Dear ______,

I don't have to tell you anything about my life because in your eyes you already know. You know the ins and outs of the person I am and the person I want to be. The good, the bad, and the ugly are things you have always predicted as you've sat and commented on my life no matter what I was going through. While I haven't always been able to respond to your "insights," I would love the chance to respond to them now.

Just because you think you know me, doesn't mean you really do.

You know my name, my general background, and maybe even my dreams. Good for you. Those are also all things people in my classes learned the first couple of weeks when we played "two truths, one lie" and other icebreakers that we all dreaded. Let me ask you this, do you know my fondest memory of my childhood? Or that living in a broken home as a young child was the best thing that ever happened to me? I'm glad you know little bits and pieces that you've tried to combine to a full story. But until you actually know and understand my story, don't act like you have any idea of the person I am today.

There's a reason I don't fit into your ideals.

I will always be my own person no matter what age I am or what stage of my life I am experiencing. I've made decisions I stand by completely and I've made some that have had me questioning what I am doing with my life. But through it all, I have grown into the person I am today. My experiences both good and bad have shaped me and formed my own ideals of who I should be. Your ideals are from what you have experienced and endured, instead of what I have. It is nearly impossible for me to ever fit into your schema because we are not the same person and we don't want the same things.

I'm proud of who I am.

While you've tried to make me feel otherwise on various occasions, I stand true to myself and who I have become because I am proud. I'm proud of my faults and my successes no matter which path they have lead me down. I won't lie, there are times where I wonder what I am doing and how on earth I am expected to keep enduring some of the challenges I put myself through. However, I am able to look myself in the mirror everyday and sincerely be proud that I am still standing and succeeding. I am me, and that's better than anything you could ever expect of me.

So here's to you and all your comments. And here's to me, still moving forward.