Dear eight-year-old me,
You are smart. You are brave. You are strong. Smarter and braver and stronger than you can ever imagine.
Don't sweat the small stuff. Ask yourself, "Is this really important?". If the answer is no, just let it go.
People can be horrible to one another... But with kindness and empathy, you have the ability to reach over and through the insensitivity and misplaced anger of others to help to heal their suffering.
Choose wisely who you spend your time with. Life is too short to waste your time on people who make you feel small or unworthy.
Although Life will be brutal and unfair, you will be able to handle it with dignity and grace and come out the other side a stronger and better person.
Cheer for the underdog. Fight for the weak. Speak for the voiceless.
You are human. You will make countless mistakes, hurt people that you care for, miss opportunities, disappoint yourself, cry, feel unworthy, give up, give in... All we can do is learn from our mistakes, learn to apologise in earnest and try to do better in the future.
Uplift, respect and empower every woman you meet. Life and womanhood is challenging enough without unjust judgement and pettiness.
Learn to respectfully say no to things that no longer serve you.
Be kind to yourself. There will be days when you cannot get out of bed. That's ok. Because the days that you are able to slay dragons will outweigh the days you cannot.
You are enough.
With love,
Your trying-to-be-a-grown-up self.
