Dear She,

Remember when you were in elementary school and didn’t care what others thought of you? You were so unique and so unafraid of what others would say — you wore neon orange shoes everyday and cut your hair as short as a boy’s, you refused to wear dresses and you refused to allow others to mock you. You were ridiculed, but you didn’t care. You just wanted to be yourself. I wish that I always had that strength to be myself and be unafraid of what the world said about me. But middle school came and you lost all that. You realized pretty quickly that you had to fit in — so you grew your hair out and started wearing what everyone else wore. You stopped playing chess and reading all day long in order to become what the world said you should be. You tried so hard to crush that amazing bit of individuality you had, and it sucked. But now, you’re in college. Now, you are finally learning again that it’s okay to be yourself completely. You don’t ever have to worry about what others think of you — if you want to wear bright orange anything, then do it. If you want short hair, then cut it all off. Don’t let the constant fear of what others think of you stop you from being the amazing person that you are. Go join the school book club, join chess club, wear whatever you want and cut off your hair. Most importantly, do it all and don’t give a second thought to the people judging you. Be yourself and love yourself, and don’t let anyone bring you down!

Love, me

Age: 18