Letter to My Younger Self

4/30/13
To my younger self,
I look back at you and see your confusion and suffering. I see the battle that you fought in your mind and against others. I still feel the heat of your anger and frustration. Let me tell you the truth about what you can't seem to put your finger on. Let me tell you about how strong you are and the woman that you will become.
There are those who tell you what you should do and who you should be. They even try to tell you how to look, what to like, and how to think. You are right to fight against the pressure being daily thrust upon you. Don't let your resistance lead to a fear of listening to what the people who oppose you have to say. Hear their perspective. Do not stop asking questions when others give information as if to say it is the way or the truth. Do not be angry at these people.
You are angry now, and frustrated at the unfairness of others being allowed to impose their way on you. Do not be angry. In your anger you miss the chance to make an impact. Slow down. Talk to those around you who are causing you frustration. You will see that you and truly every other person is limited by their own experience and understanding. You must break these barriers and confound these limits. Learn what it is to see another person's life and perspective. You do not know what it is to see the world as they do, just as they do not what it is to see this life through your eyes. Not everyone will agree with you, and you shouldn't try to make them. Share what you know of life and listen to others when they are sharing with you.
There will be obstacles in your life that will make you want to take the easy way out. The easy way is the hardest path to happiness and fulfillment and you will find nothing you value there. Keep trying. Keep asking questions. Keep loving. Having a good life is a battle. You may tire of fighting this battle, but it is a privilege to fight. It is a privilege to live.
Here is your greatest suffering; that others tell you what to be and want as a woman. Let go of their judgment on you. What you feel in your beating heart is the truth. No person can define what you are but you.
Let no person tell you what it means to be a woman. Can you see that it is you? You define what it is by your very existence. It is not for someone else to tell you what it is and for you to set out in effort to become that. No. Only you know how to be the woman you were born to be. Go and be her.

With love,
The Woman You Became