TO THE BEAUTIFUL YOU

To the Beautiful You

To the beautiful you,

the one who has learned to smile

even when the morning came

carrying yesterday’s unanswered questions,

this is for you.

To the beautiful you,

who sometimes looks into the mirror

and wonders if you are enough,

I hope you remember

that your worth was never measured

by the shape of your face,

the clothes upon your body,

or the opinions of people

who only know the version of you

they have chosen to see.

You are beautiful

in the way you keep becoming.

In the way you rise after disappointment,

in the way you still choose kindness

when the world gives you reasons

to become cold.

To the beautiful you,

please do not hurry your becoming.

A flower does not apologize

for taking time to bloom.

The sunrise does not compete

with the stars.

And a river does not question

why it must keep moving

before it reaches the sea.

Do not let someone else's definition

of beauty become the prison

where you bury your identity.

There is something beautiful

about your laughter,

but there is something even deeper

about the heart that keeps beating

after life has tried to discourage it.

To the beautiful you,

may you never become so desperate

to be accepted

that you abandon yourself.