A letter to my Grade 11 Self

I want to start this letter by telling you that although you don’t know it at this moment, you are enough and you are worthy.  Your self-esteem was stolen from you before you even knew what it was but one day soon you will have a break through and leave that relationship which is all too damaging. You have lived the past five years being told that you are not enough, that you are worthless, and among many other things you are being told that you are not good enough to be loved by anyone, you believed it but that is okay – many people in similar situations do. You will prove to yourself very soon that you are worthy of everything good and that love is not something to be earned but something that is already surrounding you. You are loved by so many, now it’s time you learn to love yourself.

This will not be an easy journey because those voices that have controlled you for so long are strong, but you my dear are stronger. You will be going to college and this will help you break away from the chains that are keeping you down. College is where you really start finding out who you are and what you deserve. I don’t want to give too much away, but you are amazing. You will face your past experiences with pure determination and will fight to learn about how they impacted you then and now.  This journey will be painful and emotionally draining but the end result is worth it. You will use your current moments of doubt to empower your future self and others around you, you will love who you have become.

Your journey leads you into being one of the most passionate social workers. Your genuine love for people and for yourself will allow you to make the biggest impact on the lives of many individuals. You will learn to forgive yourself for not loving you and for not knowing how to. Your counsellor will help you through a lot, especially understanding why you have lost your self-esteem and how to claim it back. At the age of 23 you will be semi established in your career and living on your own. Most importantly you will be proud of yourself and your accomplishments. Your love for who you are will be so powerful no unkind words will be able to take that feeling away.  You will have days where you doubt yourself but you will remember how much you survived and accomplished in your 23 short years of life. You are a force to be reckoned with. You are amazing.

This author would like to remain anonymous.