Not my words but just felt like it needs to be shared❤️
Dear self,
I apologise for the times
When I refused to listen to you
And instead listened to the sea of voices surrounding you
As though they knew what was best for you
Rather than you
I apologise for the times
When I refused to allow you to write your own story
Live your own life
Follow your own dreams
And listen to your own heart
And instead suppressed your voice
Silenced your hopes
Stunted your growth
And sabotaged your success
Out of fear, anxiety, insecurity
A lack of self-confidence
And self-doubt
I apologise for the times
When I put others on a pedestal
And elevated their opinions of you
Above your own
I apologise for the times
When others wounded you
Criticised you
Made fun of you
Left you feeling like you were ugly, worthless
Or a waste of space
And called you strange, different, weird or quirky
And a whole bunch of labels
Because they were incapable of seeing your worth
You didn’t fit into their boxes
Or they didn't understand you
And instead of sticking up for you
I listened to them
Chose to be hurt by them
And internalised those messages
Allowing them to dictate and define who you were
Rather than allowing you to trust that you knew better
And to define yourself
I apologise for teaching you
To shrink yourself
To make others more comfortable
Make yourself small
To satisfy those around you
Attempt to appear less beautiful
To make others feel better about themselves
Appear be less intelligent
To make others feel less intimidated
And to be less loud
And take up less space in the world.
For believing that you were your body
And your outer shell was more important
Than your inner soul
And for believing that you had to prove yourself and your worth to others
In order to be deserving of a place in the world.
And I want you to know
I’m proud of you
I’m grateful for you
And I’m in awe of how far you’ve come
And who you are becoming.
Please forgive me for failing to recognise your worth
Please forgive me for believing that you weren’t enough
And that you were undeserving of love
And please know that from this moment on
I’m putting your needs first
I’m listening to your guidance
I’m allowing you to take up space and be your own unique person
I’m celebrating you fully even when others don’t
I’m embracing who you authentically are
I’m forgiving you for the times when you’ve failed and stumbled
I’m refusing to allow others to bring you down and make you feel less about yourself due to external factors beyond your control
And I’m choosing to love and accept you fully
Starting from today.
Words by Tahlia Hunter
Excerpt from “A Year Of Love Letters To Myself: 365 Passages Of Healing, Wisdom And Encouragement.”