A letter to an adolescent female who is struggling with her negative body image.

I know what you are going through and I applaud your bravery for being able to share these thoughts with me.  Sounds like you are struggling to understand your limitless value in the world.  Please allow me to remind you you are more than how you look or how the world tries to define what is beauty. Your beauty goes beyond what people think they see devling deep into how you present in the world, how you choose to share your gifts with the world, and the fire inside of you.  What makes you beautiful is your uniqueness, your singular point of view, the way others experience you, and the positive presence you play in people’s lives.  Striving for perfection is a losing battle because it is a place that doesn’t exist.  It is a road of false promises, insecurity, disappointment, shallow relationships, and engagement in behaviors that make us distrust what we know to be healthy and nurturing.  We may feel alone, depressed, unworthy, lost but we are none of those things.  Comparing one’s self to another is like comparing a mountain to the ocean;  both beautiful in their own ways, both spark a sense of limitless possibility, both offer life and prosperity to many species without taking any of these attributes away from the other.  Co-existing in the world to be appreciated by all who chose to experience the beauty they offer.  This is you.  This is me.  There is enough love and acceptance in the world to be beautiful just as you are right here, right now.  You are exactly as you were meant to be.  Your road is your own and when you chose to engage in activities that nurture your curiosity, peak your interest, and expand your understanding of the world, beauty abounds.  But as I have learned, when I allow the image in the mirror to define my place in life, I feel small, stagnant, stifled, and sad.  Nothing that supports anything I want to be or how I want to show up for others.  Believing I encapsulate all the beauty laying before me ignites my inner passion to celebrate who I am.  I invite you to see yourself as the beauty you seek, without hesitation or question, and join me on this glorious journey.