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October 28, 2015

One Day, you Will be Loved: a Letter to my 16-year-old Self.

girl, flower,

Hi sweet girl,

I know you don’t believe it right now, but one day, you will be loved and cherished—held so tightly that you’ll melt like sea-salt caramel into a dark chocolate Snickers bar.

One day, you won’t hurt so much. Torturous thoughts and streams of anxious worries and relentless bad dreams won’t haunt you every night. Self-hatred won’t stab into your gut every five seconds, eating away at you like fierce acid.

You’ll know what it is to smile.

And laugh.

And speak your truth, with deliciously hot fire.

One day, you will feel whole.

Chin up, sweet girl.

I hate that you have to go through so much sh*t, but that pain will transform you—it will make you magnificent.

Remember your courage—always. It’s there—a solid, fiery center—underneath those suffocating petals of fear.

You will find your way through the darkness and uncertainty.

I promise.

On your steep, winding journey, you’ll find ripe berries of strength within every shattering heartbreak and devastating disappointment. You’ll find wisdom and truth in thick, dark bushels of sadness. You’ll find succulent seeds of light in your failure.

Please don’t dry your tears—let them flow, you need them. Each teardrop will water your wounds, so the scrapes and cuts on your soul can grow into gorgeous, magenta-colored flowers.

Chin up, sweet girl.

It gets so much better. It gets beautiful and juicy and meaningful.

Life won’t be perfect—no, not at all—but you’ll feel alive. You’ll wake in the morning, without that throbbing pit of empty dread in your stomach. You’ll smile at the first blush of morning’s light and look forward to facing even the toughest days.

And yes—the one who holds you like a precious gem will be a kind, gentle man—and I gotta tell you, he’s really handsome, too.

But first, before any of that, the one who loves and cherishes you—is you.

I know that sounds crazy, but it’s not.

Because one day, you will look into your own heart—at every ugly crack and chip and break—and love what you see.

You will understand that life is better because of all the bumps, that you’re more beautiful because of your mistakes.

One day, you will be loved so deeply and profoundly that it will bring you to your knees.

You will hold yourself gently and see that’s all you ever needed to do.

.

Relephant:

Open Your Cracked Heart & Let the Light in.

.

Author: Sarah Harvey

Editor: Yoli Ramazzina

Photo: Flickr/Carissa Rogers

 

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