Tell

Tell me you love me.
Tell me things are going to be okay,
even if you don't believe it.
Tell me life is going to get better.

Tell me these things,
especially when I don't believe you.

Tell me life is worth living.
Tell me you're always going to be there,
even if you don't believe it.
Tell me we'll be okay.

Tell me everything.
Tell me all your secrets,
all your crazy ideas and sad moments.
Tell me everything about you,

I want to know it all.

Then let me tell you.

Let me tell you how much I love you.
Let me tell you everything is going to be okay,
even if you don't believe it.
Let me tell you how life gets better.

Let me tell you these things,
especially when you don't believe them.

Let me tell you life is worth living.
Let me tell you about how I'll always be there,
even if you don't believe it.
Let me tell you we'll be okay.

Let me tell you everything.
Let me tell you all our secrets,
all of my crazy ideas and sad moments.

I want to tell you them all.

On Loving Others and Yourself

Baby, if you are ever left wondering if he loves you, take a moment. Think back on all the times you've had this feeling. Every moment you questioned how someone could ever possibly love you. And then look at yourself because if you don't love yourself first, you'll never believe anyone else can.

It's something you have to learn. There have been times where I've avoided every mirror and reflection I could. There are still days I do this. Day, months, years have gone by with me hating myself because I was uncomfortable with myself.

And loving yourself is not as easy as it sounds. It takes so much work. When the world around you is continuously telling you you're not lovable because you don't have the right body, clear skin, and are so awkward you make yourself uncomfortable it's hard to find things to love.

There is no way for me to get you to love yourself. Darling I so wish I could. I would sit you down and make list after list of all the reasons you deserve to be loved. I would tell you how beautiful your crooked smile is, how amazing you are at teaching, how much you have changed peoples lives. I would tell you that those things you so hate about yourself are so beautiful, because they are a part of you.

If I knew you would believe me, I would tell you all of this. But baby, I know you won't. At least I know I don't. And I don't know how to fix this. I don't know if you can. I'm trying to love myself just like you. I'm trying to figure out how someone else could possibly love me in any way and I still haven't found out the answer. But I keep trying.

We are truly our worst critic.

I hope you can learn to be kind to yourself. I hope I can learn to be kind to myself. Be true to yourself. Be kind to yourself. But above all love yourself. Because God knows you deserve all the love in the world.

Love,
Natalie

Fighting Battles

I hope you're good to one another. If that's all you get out of this, that's okay. This world is not always kind. Everyone has demons they face on a daily basis and even if we can't help them in their battle we can at least not make it harder on them.

I know it's something we've always heard. "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." It's something we have been reminded of continuously, but it seems to be forgotten by so many people these days. We've grown up in a world that tells us strangers aren't important. We're told they're just extras in our lives and they don't matter. But that's isn't the case.

Everyone has their own lives, yeah, that's true. But we should be glad to be a part of it even if it's just a smile, because a simple smile can end with you sharing your life with that stranger you smiled at because they looked like they were having a bad day.

Some days we may feel like we're just skin and bones. Nothing else. Not a heart full of love or a mind full of thoughts. Darling, I know that these are going to be the hardest days to be kind to others. Try to remember those days that were made a little better by someone else's smile.

Put on your armor when you need to. Protect yourself from your own demons. No one is going to look at you as being less if you need to. Use your kind words, your smiles, your love, your hope on the evil you face. Show them they can't destroy you.

You will face hate in this world. It's just a sad fact. There will always be someone throwing hate into the world. You might not be able to stop them, but you can at least soften the blows. Going around with your hands held out may get you hurt more often, but you're going to gain so many more experiences. Being open, being real, it might not seem like it, but it makes you tough.

There will be people in this world who will help you up just to push you back down again. I know it doesn't make sense, why people would hurt someone else purposefully but it happens way too often. Don't be that person. Become people's refuge. Become the person they know they can come to when life gets too hard because they know you'll be there to tell them "It's going to be okay. You can get through this. I'm here for you." Because that's usually what they need to hear anyway.

Be kind. Be loving. Be hopeful. We need more people like that in this world and you might just be able to change someones life. You're going to do great things, I know this. Just don't let the world get to you before you accomplish them.

Love,
Natalie