You said you were weak, but inside you were strong. You said you were ugly, but inside and out you were beautiful. You said you would never amount to anything, and now you're halfway through college. You thought you had to hide behind someone, but now you shine.

When you were 16, you never felt beautiful. You hid behind a jacket and a book. You swore you would never get out of that town, that you were a nobody.

I know you still remember that night, staring blankly into the mirror, questioning everything that you had ever done, the actions that brought you to where you stood. The emptiness in your chest tightening, the lights dimming.

But you didn't do it, did you? No... why? To this day, I imagine you yourself still do not know the reason why you threw it away and went on a walk instead.

I bet you still remember dropping that awful jacket into the trash the next day and walking into school with your head held high.

Was it hard to rebuild after all that trauma and self-harm? Yes, I'm sure it was, but you did it. How did it do it, how did you just rebuild yourself? I'm sure it took longer than a day.

To watch you cut all the negative and bad influences out of your life, I was proud. The way you could just turn your life around, it was so close to perfection.

How you always kept referring to yourself as stupid or an idiot? You are doing pretty decently in college.

You were the girl who always thought she wouldn't end up with anyone worth being with. Now, you're so madly in love with a man who treats you like a queen.

You made it. Even after all the rough nights and close calls of it almost ending abruptly, you made it.

Now at 20, I can honestly say you have changed more than I can describe. You no longer cower or cry in the shower. You find happiness where there is nothing. At the end of the day, you live with no regrets.

At the end of the day, you look back at that moment and smile because you are stronger than you know.

I hope everyone else can learn from you that it does get better. No matter how dark it may get, there is always that light--you just have to work and wait for it.