We've all been told, "You can't do that (because...)", "You will never *insert your hopes and dreams*" and so on. I've been told that I wouldn't be a good social worker because someone was mad at me and claimed I didn't "pick up the signals", as if someone who isn't studying anything remotely close to my field had any idea what social work truly is.

Well, to everyone who's ever tried to break me down- this one's for you.

To the person who told me I wouldn't be great,

I hope you're doing well, really. Just because you tried to tear me down doesn't mean I will stoop to your level and hope you didn't accomplish your own dreams.

It's true that people will always remember how you make them feel (thank you Maya Angelou for haunting me and making sure that I never intentionally seek to harm someone's heart). I will never forget the way you made me feel. Sure, I don't remember exactly what you said to me, but trust me, I remember the gist of it. Most importantly, I remember how angry, upset, and hurt I was. Someone who was supposed to love me and support me and my dreams crushed me and broke my heart in a way it had never been broken before.

When you're little, you're told that you can "do anything you want in life, as long as your heart is in it". Then, as you grow older, the same people who encouraged you as a child start to crush the very dreams they helped instill in you. You can't be the president of the United States. You can't start your own business. You can't be an actress. You can't get into that college. You can't. Somewhere along the way, your "can's" turn into "can't's" and sometimes, your spirit may be dimmed.

Well, even though it was hard hearing your negativity, you pushed me towards my success. You don't deserve the credit, and I'm not giving it to you. However, I deserve to be set free from the prisoner you've made me, so therefore, I forgive you. I forgive you for breaking me, crushing my dreams and telling me I wasn't worthy. Maybe somewhere along the way, someone told you that you would be nothing... and maybe you believed them. I am sorry for that. Instead of using your own experience to help others achieve their own goals, you took your experience and used it to break others down. It's a vicious cycle that I am choosing to end right now. Yes, people have told me continuously that I can't, but I know that I can. I forced the voice inside my head to be louder than theirs.

When I'm looking at all of my accomplishments and success, and when I realize how happy and fortunate I am, I thank God for sending me the people who told me I wasn't good enough, that I'd go nowhere and that I would fail, Most importantly, I thank God for the strength to overcome their rejection and disapproval with the help of the greatest support system I could have ever asked for.