#1
The Process...
Sample...
Dear Melanie,
It’s been almost three years since the summer it happened. Growing up, you read countless stories and watched numerous movies about summers that changed lives, believing that experience to be a fanciful one— until it happened to you.
I remember you standing there speechless, in utter shock after that woman, one whom you still wonder about today, uttered those words: “You are the kind of girl who braves a big smile for the world, but you hold a lot of hurt in your heart.” I remember you being unable to cry in the moment, but going home and sobbing yourself to sleep that night and for many nights afterwards. Truth be told, I still bawl at the thought of those words today, but today the tears come from a different place, a better place.
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Melanie, to you, I say hang in there because it truly does get better. I know how unfathomably difficult that simple phrase may be to believe, but take it from me, from a stronger you, that it does. I know you’re hurting, Melanie. I know your heart aches right now because for so long, you’ve dismissed your pain and locked away your hurt, actions fueled by the desire to be loved by those around you in order to fill the void of the love that you don’t have for yourself. But, believe me when I say that this experience will do more good for you than harm. Soon, you will embark on a journey of self-discovery and self-love, and though sometimes you may lose your way, you will never look back.
…....
Melanie, I wish I could tell you that today you are everything you’ve ever wanted to be. I wish I could tell you that you are always confident; that you are always brave; that you are always honest about your feelings with yourself and with those around you; and, that you always feel worthy. I wish I could tell you that you are completely and utterly happy with who you are. But, as much as I wish I could, I can’t say any of those things to you sincerely. However, I can say to you that today you are light years closer than you were that summer. You are light years closer to being that woman you’ve always wanted to be.
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You are stronger than you know, Melanie Esterine.
Love,
You, Melanie— just a few years older and wiser