To the beautiful girl with an even more beautiful soul,

I know you have heard it all a million times, if not more:

“You care too much.”

“You are way too emotional about everything.”

“Did you really just cry over that?”

“Stop being so soft. It makes you weak.”

"Having a soft heart means you have a weak mind."

Well, let me tell you this, sweet girl. These people are wrong. You possess one of the rarest, but most important qualities: a soft, loving soul. These negative connotations people have toward souls like yours come from the fear they have of feeling as deeply as you do. Do not let these comments turn your heart cold. These comments will never go away and your beautiful outlook on life should be as permanent.

When something is extremely rare, it has immeasurable value and this is the case with you. You are worth more than you know in this world. Loving hearts and caring souls keep this world turning. Imagine what this world would be like without hearts like yours. Honestly, that is a world I would never want to live in. Furthermore, imagine what a delightful world we would live in if more people would love and feel as deeply as you do. However, the world will never reach this unless hearts like yours continue to pour out every ounce of love within them and care from the deepest depths of their soul.

Here comes the cold, hard truth: this world will throw things at you that will give you every reason to harden your heart. There will be heartbreak, loss, tragedies and everyday struggles. But for every reason this life gives you to harden your heart, there will be another reason to keep your soul as soft as you can. Many of these reasons will be the people in your life who have come to depend on you and your heart of compassion. Although you do not realize it, you are a place of comfort for so many in your life. Your heart full of love is a place for them to receive peace and compassion during their trials in life. Sweetest soul, if your heart becomes hard, their's will become even harder. Once again, do not forget how valuable you are to those around you.

As you have probably come to realize, the way you express your emotions is not how others choose to express theirs. However, this is what makes you unique. When you watch videos of military homecomings or cancer patients, do not hold back tears in fear of receiving judgement from others. When you cry from laughing at the silly video, do not stop because it makes too much noise or draws attention to yourself. When you are angry and cannot help but cry, do not try to stop yourself just because others say this makes you weak. Expressing emotion is a lost art in this cruel world. Holding in your joy, sadness, and anger will also make your heart harden, sweet girl. An artist expresses his thoughts through painting and you are a beautiful painter of emotion. Paint this world with your emotion when every opportunity arises.

Whatever may change in your life, do not let your soul change. Always be the one who cares the most. Let yourself become emotional over the things that you are passionate about and that touch your heart. Cry tears of happiness, sadness, and anger because expressing yourself has no set standards that you must follow. Do not let others tell you your mind is weak because of your beautiful soul. You, my dear, have the strongest mind of all because you overcome so much without giving in to the opinions of others. Most of all, stay soft, because you and your wonderful soul are needed to bring joy and love to others in this cold, cruel world.

- A Girl Just Like You