Wow. My 30 DLC was supposed to end long ago, but I'm gonna do it now.
To the reflection in the mirror:
You are a strong and beautiful woman, but you need to stop putting yourself down and you need to learn to let things go. No one is perfect, not even you. Yeah life screws you over, and people do too, but that's not the end all, be all of life. Each day you need to wake up and thank God for being alive. Live for Him and cherish each moment you spend on this green earth. You've been through a lot and the people closest to you know how strong you are, but you can show emotion too. It's okay to be visibly upset and pained and everything else you feel. You don't need to hide it or keep it inside. Know that there are tons of people willing to listen and trust that they are truly there for you and they don't have a hidden agenda. The people of *this county* are not the people you're gonna be around your whole life, so stop making a big deal of what's going on now. Look to the future and take the people and memories that you cherish from where you are now, to where you go in the future. Don't forget to thank your parents for giving you life and the will to be successful. Don't forget to thank your fellow Notre Dame scholars for showing you that not all African Americans are "hoodlums," "low-lifes," "thugs." We're going places that African Americans have never gone before and don't you ever forget that. Don't forget to keep in touch with the people who always check in on you and make sure you're doing okay, even when you feel like shutting out the world. Don't forget to say "thank you" or smile at strangers, because it may have just made their day or saved their life. Stop judging people before you get to know them and pray that others will stop judging you before they know you. As a human race, we have a lot to offer each other and we can't do that with all of the hate in the world. You need to be the change you want to see in the world. I love you and I promise that I will never do anything to hurt you again. I promise that as long as I shall live, I will respect myself and learn to respect those around me. I promise to love you before I learn to love anyone else. Never forget who you are: a beautiful, strong, determined, and respectful woman.
"I made a promise to myself: I would always remember my parents’ wishes, but I would never forget myself." -The Joy Luck Club
I Promise Myself
To be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.
To make all my friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of
others as I am about my own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the
greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile
to every living creature I meet.
To give so much time to improving myself that I
have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry; too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of myself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words, but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on my side,
so long as Iam true to the best that is in me.
Christian D. Larson
