Dear Haters,

I would like to think that there aren’t many of you out there. I would like to hope everyone grew up with the same heart as I did. I would like to genuinely believe that people want the best for you and never intend on harming you. I would like to know that even your fondest friends and family members will encourage you to be your best and rule out your worst. But the only thing I know for certain is that none of these things are true. You are out there and you have watched me flourish into someone you never will be. You celebrated my mistakes, and grieved my successes. You watched me struggle to rise at my best, but bringing me down was nonetheless your greatest intent.

I am not writing you a letter to inform you of your shortcomings or my weaknesses. Instead, I wish to express my gratitude towards you. Without knowing it, you have helped me grow into a woman of many admirable traits. You have taught me that if I expect everyone to be as good of a person as myself, I will never grow up. Often times, the greatest downfalls and defeats in our lives are a matter of wrecked hopes. When our expectations are not met, we are devastated because we tend to have settled into the perfection of a nonexistent world within our heads. Growing up is accepting that, you are in charge of your own happiness. You cannot control what happens in life, but you certainly can control the way you react towards the situation. You can choose to be happy, or you can choose to be dreadful and ignorant. It is a complex phenomenon, because if more people trusted themselves for their own happiness, life would contain a lot happier people.

You may have managed to bring me down once or twice, but I know that if I let you get to me, I will be my worst enemy. You might hate to admit this, but your hatred is just a form of hidden jealousy. The time spent focusing on me, talking about me, and painting the worst picture of me in your head and to others is precious time that you could have spent working on yourself. In my eyes, jealousy is the worst disease known to mankind because the infection and cure can only occur within yourself. The help of even the most skilled professionals cannot even get rid of it. It is not too late to turn around and become a better person. Love and hate are more similar than you may imagine. The only way to experience one is to have truly experienced the other. I am not telling you to love everyone, but I want you to recognize that it is completely within you to look past all your empty hatred and move on.

To all my haters, you know who you are and more so, you know who I am. Thank you for making me into a stronger person. You cannot bring me down, because I do not value you and your opinion. I refuse to acknowledge your existence because you are not worthy of my time and respect. I refuse to turn around and get to your level, because I already belong in front of you. If you are going to remain on this path, I have so much more for you to be mad at, so be patient and watch me be successful in life. To all my haters, thank you for being my biggest motivaters. Thank you for being my biggest fans.

Love,

Mira