14-year-old Madyson Arscott writes an open letter to her past self
Hey,
You good?
Hope so. I know you had a lot of stuff going on with you. I know you hated looking in the mirror. I know you didn’t want to go to school because you feared the other kids would still be calling you every name under the sun. I know how close you were to asking your grade seven Science teacher to move seats in class, because the guy next to you said your arm hair made you more manly than him.
“I know you had a lot of stuff going on with you. I know you hated looking in the mirror”
Sooner than you think you’re gonna start stumbling upon your passions. You like art. In fact, you LOVE art. You like standing up for people and you like telling stories. You’re gonna find out, that when the time comes to stand in front of a crowd, you are GREAT at it. Who would have thought that the shyest kid in class is going to get to the regional speech art competition?
You’re gonna find out that “You have a way with words, kid” – that’s not just coming from me, that’s going to come from dozens of people all around you. When you go off, their words slip away.
You’re not “fat”… or “ugly”… or a “freak”. You’re loud, you’re creative, you have the potential and straight up ability to be INSPIRATIONAL! (If you’re looking at that last one and going “Pft, me? Inspirational? Funny.” Don’t worry. That’s what I said the first time somebody called us that too.)
“You’re not ‘fat’… or ‘ugly’… or a ‘freak'”
I know you stay up late all the time, and you think about everything that could be. You think about that one line from that book you read:
“I think there should be a rule that everyone in the world should get a standing ovation at least once in their lives.” ― R.J. Palacio, Wonder
You wonder if you’ll ever get one. If you could ever have enough impact on people to get them off their feet. If you had the vision, the ideas, or even the ability to be ironically ingenious enough for a standing ovation.
Let me tell you something: You will; and you do. You’re gonna get one a lot earlier than most people ever do. You’re gonna cry, too. I think about it all the time. Look forward to it! It’ll be magical. It’s everything you think it’s like; but don’t think about it. Get out there! Do it! Make that video. Never stop creating.
As you get older, you’re gonna try and get out there a bit more. Not with people (just yet); but with who you are as a person. You finally made that decision! You stood up to the people that bullied you. I forget how it came about exactly, but I remember that you reached a point when you decided that you would no longer surrender to other people’s opinions anymore and that you were your own person. In that moment you turned your life around.
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As shy, as socially awkward, as unathletic as you are; you always stay true to yourself. Everybody says that about us, you know? You’re gonna get told left, right and center that you’re unique, that you’re special and that you’re unlike anybody else people have ever met. YOU! You did that! Let me tell you that NOBODY is EVER going to look down on you for making that decision to be your own person, for being confident in yourself, for being the only person in school not wearing running shoes. That decision is gonna turn out to be one of the best decision you’ll ever make, it’ll be great. Trust me.
“Crying in front of people doesn’t make you weird”
You’re really emotional. You practiced getting crazy passionate about the things you love. You actually CRIED in front of an audience of 400 people once while you were explaining how much meaning something you created had to you. (If you’re going “WHAT?! I DID THAT? WHAT A LOSER!” Shut up. You didn’t care. Everybody loved it. Crying in front of people doesn’t make you weird. Write that down for later). Your sentimental ferociousness comes from a ton of practice. Dozens of sleepless 3 am nights. Most importantly, it comes form the ability to LAUGH AT YOURSELF! Being completely comfortable in the fact that there are things you’re not good at. You fall a lot and you still can’t pronounce “lunch” right; THAT’S OKAY! Look at yourself in the mirror and smile, surround yourself with as much positivity as you can. Don’t be afraid of looking dumb. Quit saying you’re “not as good as” or “will never be like” because comparison is the thief of all happiness. You’re doing great as is.
Look, the world can get real ugly. Future you gets angry about this a lot and let me warn you in advance, 2016 is a pretty wild year in terms of US politics. But don’t worry about that now. Focus on you. Put yourself out there, you deserve it! Give yourself some recognition every once in a while. Say it with me: “I AM A STAR!”.
“Look at yourself in the mirror and smile, surround yourself with as much positivity as you can. Don’t be afraid of looking dumb”
Listen, the world is gonna get you down, algebra is gonna make your blood boil, you’re gonna have times when all you can say is “sorry” and don’t think you can keep going, but you will. Think about all the dogs you’ll play with, all the concerts you’ll attend, all the sites you plan to see and all the folks you wanna meet. Do it for the Facebook memories. Keep going for your future best friend; because she’s amazing, I want you to be around for her.
To finish things off, let me tell you, things are gonna get scary… you’re gonna get really confused and you’re gonna be really heavy-hearted sometimes.
But you’ll be okay. You’ll be okay.
