Dear little me,
If I could go back in time and tell you that the woman you became now is doing better than you ever expected and for you not to worry, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t take away any of the heartbreak, tears, or the pain you felt because that is what strengthened you. You are going to hit rock bottom— hard. You are going to cry for days over the many mistakes you made, and I can promise you, we make a lot. You are going to wonder for hours on where you let yourself slip down this steep slope and how everything ended up like this. But if I told you where you went wrong, you wouldn’t learn how to fight, succeed, or grow into the woman who is writing this letter. I am not going to tell you how to live to save yourself from these mistakes, but I can give you some advice I learned from being us.
You are going to grow up in a self-absorbed, male-dominated generation where beautiful blondes with perfectly sculptured figures flood your Instagram page because it’s official rush week, and everyone loves their new big. You are going to work 10 times harder than the guy next to you in class every year, but when it comes to applications, his will always stand higher because he has the privilege of being male. You are going to lose friends who consume themselves in likes and attention. You are going to start to doubt yourself, and that’s when you need to stop.
You need to stop telling yourself that you are not sorority perfection and don’t fear posting pictures based on your peers’ likes. You need to stop crying and start working so when you are up against a guy the only difference is not male versus female; it’s every job, degree, and effort that you put in that will stand out. You need to start loving yourself sooner rather than later because once you do, I promise everything gets so much easier.
If you remember anything from me, it is to start loving and stop doubting. You are capable of everything you are thinking of right now, and I know it because you are reaching it. You do not need social media, sorority sisters, and arrogant men standing in the way, and you know us better than anyone; we sure didn’t let them. So, when you hit rock bottom just remember that the woman you build your way up to become is excelling and is not finished growing yet.
Till next time, little me,
HCxoxo,
Hannah