That’s stupid!
Shut up!
You hear the voice each day.
Ha! That’s not any good!
Why did you say that?!
It never goes away.
But the voice is…
Familiar?
I know it now.
It’s your voice.
You knock yourself down so easily.
Every time you fall it gets harder to pick yourself up.
Put yourself back together.
The shards burn and scratch your hands. Your heart.
Each breath is harder than the last -

Stop.

Look in a mirror.
Past the hatred and sorrow.
Deep inside there is a girl.
A girl who is full of hope and joy.
A girl who sees that she is beautiful.
A girl who knows that she is strong and doesn’t need to apologize for it.
A girl who is full of life and light and laughter.
Every day she understands that the world can be harsh, but it is always beautiful.
She not only loves the people around her. She also loves herself.
Society tells her she must push herself down. She knows they’re wrong,
Instead, she learns to fly.

Someday,

I hope I can be that girl.