I see you, fighter:

Grabbing your head between your hands as violent headaches caused by stress keep you from opening your eyes but also from going to sleep. I see you there, refusing to eat anything because your stomach cannot understand that it needs nutrients to finish the tasks it’s worrying about. I see you there, unable to tell others how you feel because they will diminish your problems in a heartbeat. I see you, fighter, considering whether you should fight for your dreams or fight for what society implies should be your dreams.

I see you wondering whether it will be okay a few years from now. I see you debating the pros and cons of any decision you make, from what you will have for dinner tonight to what to do with your life when the title “adult” applies to your age. I see you trying to control the tears from spilling when the ones you rely on the most for moral support are the first ones attacking you. I see you, constantly dreading the morning, because it is only at night, in your bed, when you feel the most peaceful. I see you there, scared of taking any chances in life. I see you wishing you were stronger and committed to your happiness before others’.

What I see the most is all the ways in which you already are courageous: starting with the wishful thinking that, someday, everything will be fine and living through your days with that promise in mind. I see you fighting off the warnings that this world isn’t made for you. I see you smiling at the people who do not believe you can or should. I see you celebrating the little things, not taking anything for granted. I admire the way you make yourself keep going: “tomorrow will be a new day”. I love the way you make your identity be known and letting others understand they will not strip it away from you. I respect the decisions you take that lead you to better moods, more honest smiles, beautiful days…

As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his essay “Self-Reliance”:

“Live no longer to the expectation of these deceived and deceiving people with whom we converse. Say to them, O father, O mother, O wife, O brother, O friend, I have lived with you after appearances hitherto. Henceforward I am the truth’s… I must be myself. I cannot break myself any longer for you, or you. If you can love me for what I am, we shall be the happier. If you cannot, I will still seek to deserve that you should. I must be myself.”

Tell the world, whether the world is one person or many, that the life you will live must fulfill you: the soul who will go through the years. It is you who knows what’s best for you and what’s worth living for.