I'm here with you,
And I see you.
And I know that sometimes you wonder if you're okay as you are.
The answer is that you are more than okay.
Being you is absolutely okay.
You were made exactly right.
You're not broken.
You're not too much.
You're not too little.
You're exactly right.
All of those parts of you that you've been trying to hide,
Your silliness,
Your wildness,
How much you feel things,
All of those needs that you have,
The way that you see the world differently,
Those aren't bad things.
Those are your gifts.
I know that grownups made you feel like you needed to be quieter or calmer or smaller or different to be loved.
But here's a secret.
They were wrong.
They said those things because they had hurts inside of them that they didn't know how to heal.
It wasn't about you.
It was never about you.
The truth is that the world needs you exactly as you are.
Not the one who tries to be good all the time.
Not the one who hides to stay safe.
The real you.
Wild and gentle,
Silly and serious,
Scared and brave,
All mixed up together.
You don't have to wait until you're perfect or all healed or all grown up.
You just need to be you.
That's all.
That's everything.
And every time that you let yourself be real,
Every time you laugh a little bit too loud or cry or say what you really think or dance like nobody's watching,
You help other people remember that they can be real too.
So take a deep breath with me.
Feel your heart beating.
And know this.
You weren't an accident.
You were put here on purpose.
Your feelings,
Your energy,
The way you love big,
Your quirkiness,
And even your flaws.
Those aren't mistakes.
Those are exactly what the world needs from you.
The world doesn't need you to be like everybody else.
It needs you.
So please,
Little one,
Stop trying to be smaller.
Stop hiding parts of you that are big and bright and messy and beautiful.
You are not just enough.
You are needed and you are perfect as you are.
So be you.
All of you.
The silly you,
The sensitive you,
The wild you,
The quiet you,
All of it.
That's the magic.
That's the gift.
That's how everything changes.
I love you so much,
And I'm so glad you're here.