You are no doubt a beautiful child. You have your daddy's eyes and this wildly adorable curly hair, sweet little cheeks and an irresistable grin. People tell me every single day that you're beautiful. And they're right. But you're likely to hear it from me more often than anyone else, because that's what moms do. We lift you up, we praise and compliment you. I'll tell you you're beautiful when you feel least like it, when you feel ugly or not good enough or plain or unremarkable. That's when you need it the most. I'll tell you on your first day of kindergarten, your first day of high school, your wedding day.
But you need to know that beauty is not, and will never be, the most important thing about you. You are meant to be so much more. A pretty face means nothing if the girl behind it doesn't have a beautiful heart. The world is going to try to tell how to look, what to wear, who to idolize. But "the world" isn't there at the end of the day when you need a hug. Your friends and your family are. They are the ones who know you for you, the real you, the you that you are despite the world's best efforts to make you like everyone else. Don't get so caught up in what you look like that you forget to be nice to people. Do things for others. Make people smile. Read until your head feels like it might burst with characters, places, events.
One day you might wear braces, or glasses. You might have freckles. That wild hair may be unruly. But you will still be beautiful. Because none of that has anything to do with the person you are, the person you will become. Always be kind. Remember that your mother made you feel beautiful when you felt as though you weren't, and pass that along to a friend that isn't feeling so beautiful. Realize that your worth is not tied up in the package that the world sees, but in the person you will spend every day creating. Make those days count. Be healthy, be happy, be beautiful...all by your own standards.
No comments:
Post a Comment