Dear My Inner Child- We Made It

This is a letter I would want my younger version of myself to read

Dear little Jasmine, 

Can you believe we made it? 

I just turned 19 and couldn’t be happier. 

One thing I want to tell you is that you are loved. 

I’m sure you look in the mirror and only see a small little girl with a huge gap in her teeth, twists with beads on the ends, and chunky grandma glasses and thinks you’re less than enough. 

I want to tell you that today, we wear contacts, grow into our body and have tried so many different hairstyles and colors you couldn’t even imagine. (Yes we had red and blue hair).

I remember a certain time in our life where we would sit in the mirror and point out every insecurity we had and didn’t know why. 

We still do that now but it’s time to stop.

I am so happy now!

We have done everything we have ever wanted to do for ourselves and our entire family has been behind us as well. 

I know that being homeschooled from kindergarten to around 9th grade made you feel as if we missed out on being ‘normal’. 

I’m here to tell you that being normal is so overrated. 

And half the time, people don’t even realize that you are homeschooled so it was never that big of a deal.

I will say that being here in college and hearing how other people grew up, in big houses or with a father in their life, sometimes I wonder how different my life would be if I had those things as well. 

But I love every moment I have made with my family. I believe that since it was always Nana, Papa, my mom, and my little cousin that surrounded and supported me, we became so successful. 

Do you remember that one time we cried our eyes out because the white boys at our school didn’t like us?

I want to tell you that our mom was right. We have to love ourselves first before opening our hearts and minds for someone else to love us. 

I love myself and all my curves, my flaws and my laugh that people used to tell us was annoying. 

I am so proud of you and everything you have accomplished already and I hope you would be proud of me for where I am now. 

You might be thinking right now, Did we get into JMU? 

Yes, but that’s not the school we chose. 

I am a Hampton woman and it was the best decision we ever made. 

I love you and keep being the sunshine Nana taught us to be.

Love,

Jasmine 

• mental health