Hey.

First of all, thank you for being you.

You might be someone I know well, or someone I’ve never met. You might be older than me, or younger than me. You might have accomplished so many things, or you might not have accomplished anything yet. The only thing that is for sure, is that I look up to you more than anyone else in the world. When I think of what I want to be, you always come to mind. It might be professionally, as you could be a successful business owner or celebrity. It might be personal, as you could be funny and smart and cool and kind. It doesn't really matter, because I will always look up to you.

You were my role model before I even knew what a role model was. I admired your personality, your drive for success, and your constant need to put others before yourself. You were confident and beautiful and perfect. You were everything I hoped to me and more. I stood on the sidelines, watching your every move and trying my hardest to imitate you. As a young child, I thought that I needed to be just like you. You were, and still are, perfect, so what child wouldn’t want to be you?

Now, as a young adult, I realize that I don’t need or want to be just like you. While I still admire you, I admire you in the fact that you are your own person. I realize now that this, in fact, was the whole reason why I even admired you in the first place. You aren’t afraid to stand out from the crowd, speak your mind, and put yourself out there. You are confident in yourself, and that is the most important thing for anyone. So now, instead of trying to imitate you, I try to emulate you. Instead of being you, I bring aspects of you to me, in order to enhance myself. You always try to be your best self, so now I always try to be my best self.

I want to thank you for always being there for me, whether you know me or not. By simply living your life, you have forever changed mine. People have different role models throughout their lives, but you were the role model that shaped me most into the person that I am today. Thank you for being you, so that I could be me.

You taught me that it’s okay to mess up. It’s okay to laugh at yourself. It’s okay to be a little weird. It’s okay if someone doesn’t want to be your friend (if they don’t it’s their loss). It’s okay to let loose and have fun. It’s okay to take things too seriously. It’s okay to dream. It’s okay to fail, as long as you try again. It’s okay to be yourself.

It’s okay to not be perfect. In reality, it’s okay to be perfectly imperfect.

Without you, I wouldn’t be me, so thank you for the greatest gift.

Sincerely,

Your biggest fan

P.S. Don’t you ever feel like you haven’t accomplished anything. You don’t know how much I look up to you. Even if you falter, I will still always look up to you. Keep going, cause I know that you can do anything.