I know who you are. You’re the one who looks in the mirror and immediately looks away because you don’t want to stare at that nose of yours you wish you didn’t have. You’re the one who can’t stand to see a reflection of yourself sitting on the bus, or eating in public; pretty girls are supposed to have flat stomachs, perfect girls aren’t supposed to have chicken wing sauce all over their mouths like that. You’re the one who only sees beauty as skin deep, who reads every quote on how valuable inner beauty is but isn’t able to believe it yet, and the one who is an absolute advocate for self-love, but still does not love her own self.

I hope you know that you are not alone in this. That there is an entire army of women standing alongside you with every step you take. I hope you can feel every ounce of our love and support every time you try to say something nice about yourself, when you get all dolled up for a first date, and when you do everything in your power to turn your negative thoughts into positive ones.

I hope you recognize everything you are on the inside, I hope you are brave enough to embrace them with grit and compassion. I hope you see how drop dead gorgeous it makes you. That great physical looks are nothing compared to who you are internally. I promise you one day, you will recognize how timeless your beauty is. How your personality will be the very reason why someone will want to marry you, how your humor will be the brightest light in their life, and how your smile can easily turn their rainy days into sunny ones.

My darling girl, you are so much more than your looks. You are more than the clothes you wear, the friends you have, or the image you prefer to portray. You are a bright beam of light to those who love you, a source of motivation to those who look to you for help, and a form of warmth to those who’ve only met you for the first time. I need you to remember the work you put towards how you feel about yourself on the inside, is worth more than what you construct of yourself on the outside.

Outer beauty fades, inner beauty stays because there is no make-up or plastic surgery in this world that can cover up an unattractive personality. I hope you recognize what makes you truly beautiful. The things that make you smile, that can instantly calm you down when you’re mad, the things that help you to stay positive, and the things that can make someone love you with all their might.