Dear You-Know-Who-You-Are

Hey! You!

Yeah. You.

No. Don't turn around. I'm not talking to anyone behind you.

I'm talking to you.

I have something very important to tell you.

Luke...I am your father.

Haha!

That was awesome. You should have seen the look on your face.

Your name isn't even Luke!!

Well, unless it is. If it is...my apologies.

Wait, no. Focus, Melissa.

What was I saying? Oh, right.

Listen up, you, because what I have to say is important.

Are you ready? Awesome. Now listen closely:

You are amazing.

Did you hear that? Maybe I should say it louder.

YOU ARE AMAZING.

You are!! Do you know why? If you don't, good, cause I'm going to tell you. And if you do, I'm going to tell you anyway, because you need to hear it.

You are amazing.

You are amazing because you are a person. Because you're a living, breathing thing. How cool is that? I mean, we could have all just been rocks instead of people. Just sitting there, not moving or breathing or laughing or talking or crying or living. Just being rocks. Probably pretty lonely too. You wouldn't be able to move around or go see your friends or anything. If you were a pebble like on a beach or something, at least you'd have lots of friends right next to you. Actually, that'd be pretty rad. To live on the beach as a little pebble with all your little pebble friends. You'd get to always be outside at the beach and you wouldn't be lonely and--

No, wait. Stop. I need to focus.

My point is, you are alive. And that in itself makes you amazing. But there are a lot of other reasons too.

You are beautiful. Maybe you don't think you are, but I do. You might be thinking, "You don't even know who's going to read this! How can you think that I'm beautiful if you don't even know what I look like?!" Well, stop thinking that, because I do think you're beautiful, even if I can't see you.

It's true, though. I don't know what you look like. You might have dark hair, or you might have light hair. Maybe you're tall. Or perhaps even short. Or maybe you're just in the middle. Maybe you think you're too skinny. Or maybe you think you're fat (and odds are you probably aren't, even if you think so). Or maybe you actually are fat, and you know what, that's okay. Because being fat isn't as big a deal as everyone makes it. It's just another aspect of how you look. Would you be offended if someone came up to you and said, "You have blue eyes!" Probably not. You'd probably be confused. Especially if you didn't have blue eyes. What if your eyes were brown? I'd probably be concerned for that person's health. I'd probably suggest glasses.

Wait, gah, no more tangents! Plow through, Melissa.

Anyway, my point is, if someone pointed out another attribute of yours other than weight, you probably wouldn't be offended. You might even be flattered that they noticed. Or impressed that their eyes work correctly. I might be impressed. I'd give them a high-five. "Woo-hoo! You've mastered the art of observation!"

So, yeah. You're beautiful. Stop thinking you aren't, because you are. Alright?

But wait, there's more! Don't leave yet. I'm not finished talking. Sit back down.

We've covered outside appearance. But what about the inside?

This is where it gets deep. This is where you might be thinking, "Crap, now she's staring into the depths of my soul." It's okay. I can't see into your soul. So you can calm down.

Everyone is different. Some people are quiet, and some people are loud. Some people have lots of friends, and some people only have a few. But you know what? That's okay. Because everyone is different. And that's one of the things that makes you amazing.

You've probably heard this a million times (I know I have). But here it is: You are amazing because you are different. And if everyone were exactly the same, life would be boring. One of the reasons that I love all of my friends so much is because they're all so different from me. And imagine if all my friends were like me. That would not be good. If all my friends were like me, there wouldn't be enough factories in the world to make enough Doctor Who and Star Wars memorabilia to satisfy us all.

You are different from other people that you know, and that is awesome. Totally wicked. And sweet. That too.

YOU

ARE

AMAZING!

Okay?

Have I driven that fact (it's a fact!) into your brain yet? Is it embedded there? Has it moved in? Settled down? Started a family?

Oh, that'd actually be pretty cool, having a family of facts living in your head. Or is that what learning does? I don't know. I hope so. That makes school way more interesting.

Wait. Okay. We're almost at the end. Sorry I keep getting distracted.

Basically. To end this whole...whatever this is. I just want you to know that you're amazing. And to make sure you never forget it. Because lately, I've been forgetting that. And writing this has helped me remember. And I hope it helps you remember too.

I love you. A lot.

Okay. Until next time.

-Mel