#DearMe

Dear Child/Teenage Me,

It doesn't matter that your house and your family isn't like the Brady Bunch or even the Addams Family for that matter.  Those are all fake!  The house of the Addams Family is decorated in pastels in real life.  And six people for one bathroom, please, not actually realistic for a middle class family.  None of this is real, so don't get caught up in these trappings.  There are more families out there than you know that are as dysfunctional as yours.  Bruises fade. Scars lighten.

Don't worry about trying to fit in or be like the rest of the kids - especially the cool kids.  Don't worry about fashion and trying to look like everyone else.  In the end that's not going to matter.  They will never accept or respect you anyway.  Don't worry about all the movies you didn't get to see in the theater either.  There will actually be plenty of time for that later and most of them won't hold up over time anyway.  Don't worry about dating or if someone will ever love you.  There's plenty of time for that too.  YOU WILL BE LOVED.  You will be loved so much more than you have ever imagined.

Instead of all this, which will be utter nonsense to you later on, save your money and your time.  Instead, read more.  Read so much more.  And read a wider variety.  There are worlds out there that you don't want to miss!  Visit the library - any library - as often as you can.  Take trips to Mars instead of the mall. Take a ride on slow moving boat to the Pacific islands instead of to Music Tracks.  [Music can only take you so far and isn't worth the investment - save your money for the future] And write more. Write about anything and everything. Write silly love stories. Write about faeries. Write about monsters. Write about epic battles - both on the field and within the mind. Just let go of the fears that you will never be good enough because you will be.  The future is wider and more open for you when you let go of the fear.

Lastly, I need you to know, you will be okay.  You will go places and do things that you never even imagined.  You can and will be amazing.  You will even inspire others to reach for higher goals, to move through the pain, to create the beauty that they dream.  Just try to hold on to your sanity and you will make it through all this chaotic turmoil.  You will survive this trauma.  You will thrive.

Love Always,
Lelain de Peche