Life coach Jess Wagner recently posted a letter she wrote to her five-year-old self, and it was really cool to see her thought process and the amount of compassion she harbored for her past self.
I’ve written letters to my past self before, but I decided to take her up on this challenge. So here’s a letter to my five-year-old self:
Dear Jessica,
Everything in your life is going to change in the next few years, and that’s okay. You’re strong enough to get yourself and others through the challenges ahead.
Sometimes you’ll put your needs aside because you want to help other people so much, but know that you deserve that same amount of help as well.
Please don’t be afraid of making noise and being seen. Later on in life, you’ll learn that being quiet can be a strength at times, but it’s important that you also know that your words hold so much power.
Play with Barbies for as long as you want. Listen to music and sing along and dance as much as you want. Color in those coloring books, play with those building blocks and read by yourself as much as you want.
Most of all, I want you to know how powerful your voice is. It’s unique and wonderfully you, and it’s a good thing that writing comes so easily to you. You’ll learn that that’s not the case for everyone, and that’s okay.
Writing will save your life, but don’t underestimate the power of speaking your words aloud as well. You’ll spend a lot of your life in silence, so cherish those loud moments when you can.
Don’t give your power to other people. You won’t know for over a decade that you’re an empath, and it’ll be a while after that before you realize how much being an empath is a strength instead of a weakness, but still.
You are so freaking powerful, even though you don’t realize it yet. You’re amazing, and you will make such a big difference in your life and the lives of others. And you’ll discover that you can do that without sacrificing who you really, truly are.
Embrace everything that makes you weird. Everything. Friends will come and go, but you will always be a part of your life. Don’t sacrifice what you love doing because someone else thinks it’s dumb or weird. Take pleasure in life whenever and however you can.
There is nothing wrong with being bossy and speaking your mind. There is nothing wrong with burying your nose in a book all day to learn about different worlds. There is nothing wrong with you, period.
Photo by Lonely Planet on Unsplash
