I've been waiting the right moment to write a letter for you and since today is your special day, I'd like you to read this...
I often see you as a person who's not comfortable with yourself. You lost your confidence because of mean things people said to you since your childhood. You were struggling to grow up in a community where people judge based on appearance.
"You are Chinese but your skin is so dark, are you adopted?"
"You're short and chubby."
"Your mom is beautiful. How come you don't look like her at all?"
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| darkest skin among the family |
Their comments hurt your feeling very deep and it has changed the way you think about life. Suddenly all those trophies you've won from various competition didn't matter anymore. You ignored all the achievements you've accomplished.You started taking diet pills from a very young age. That's because you grew up with an idea that beautiful means skinny body, fair skin and long straight hair.
As you're getting older you often feel lost. You look at your reflection on the mirror and thought you actually are not ugly at all, but nasty comments keep coming and saying otherwise.
"Why are you still single? You're getting old and you're expiring soon, you know?" (as if you are some kind of canned food which has an expiry date).
"You're fat. You must lose some weight if you want to get a boyfriend."
"You will be lonely for the rest of your life."
The wound in your heart is getting deeper and deeper. You're very sad yet you refuse to show it to the world. Cheerful smiles never faded from your face, little did they know you have spent countless times crying and feeling shattered.
Dear DebbZie,
Please stop being too hard to yourself. You may not skinny, tall and have a supermodel face but believe me, you're beautiful just they way you are. You just need to love yourself more. Even though you're very stubborn person, rebel, forgetful, moody and undisciplined, still you deserve to be happy. You should appreciate all the good things you've done. It's fine to focus on more useful things than just your appearance and worrying about other people's thought. It's your life, you don't need to prove anything to anyone. Just do things that make you happy, like rescuing and feeding the street dogs or visiting the orphanage. They never fail to put a smile on your face, right?
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| adorable kids at the orphanage |
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| taking the hit and run victim to the animal hospital |
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| they're happy to have a place called home |
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| don't be sad, let's play with us! |
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| my new bed is so comfy |
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| nervous but you did it! |
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| awesome people |
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| featured in magazine |
When in doubt, just remember all these good things that happened in your life. Ignore the people who have negative influence in your life and stick to those who always support you no matter what.
Happy birthday to you! Wishing you many fabulous travel adventures ahead. Let's repeat your mantra every year. Age is just a number and you are as old as you feel.
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| taking a nap on the roof of Milan Cathedral |
I love you, myself
D
