Child, your life will become more amazing than you expect. Not more amazing than you can dream, for some of our dreams remain unfulfilled at the time of my writing this, but some of them are fulfilled – in ways that are truly wonderful and beautiful and unexpected.
You will have adventures as you always wanted. They won’t be quite like the fun adventures you wanted – riding dragons, running away with pirates, travelling to other planets – but here’s the thing: adventures are not truly adventures unless they are scary. And scary things are not often fun. Your adventures will be scary, sometimes painful, and often not particularly fun. But they will still be adventures, and you will come out of them with greater experience, greater knowledge, greater strength, and a story to tell.
And yes: you'll fight with swords. You'll do archery. You'll wear cloaks on your back and knives at your waist, and it will all be as grand as you imagined it.
You will gain friends.
You will gain wonderful, beautiful friends who are not quite like the ones you picture but who supply you with the type of friendship you always dreamed of. You are right about friendship. All of it. You are so right.
You are right about many, many things.
You are right to gain and keep imaginary friends. You will need them and want them even as you grow older.
You are right to remain childlike and to refuse to grow up.
You are right about sexuality.
You are right about vegetarianism, and kindness to animals.
Don’t be afraid of yourself, for you are right about so many things.
Don’t listen to the people who tell you things that you know, in your core, are wrong. You are right: they are wrong. Hold your tongue, for, as you know, there is no use in arguing, but know that you are right: you were right all along.
I know you think you're ugly. But you're not. And as time goes on you will become beautiful. You'll be amazed by the way that, as you find the things you want, you become beautiful. You were never really ugly, child: it's just that you have to wear a mask. But someday you'll need to wear the mask less and less, until it becomes something you only have to put on occasionally, and the rest of the time you can show your real face – your beautiful face – to the sun, and even to many of those most dreadful of creatures: human beings. And you'll look in the mirror and no longer hate what you see.
Yes, really. I swear it.
I know it sounds impossible, but child, you have no idea how much better your life is going to get.
You will discover aspects of yourself that will amaze you. You will be astounded at the beauty and brilliance you attain, inside and out. You will do things that terrify you, things that horrify you, and things that you currently believe you cannot do. I won't tell you what they are, for you won't believe me, but just know that you are going to get even more badass than you think you might – though in ways that will surprise you.
Don't be afraid of that – of surprising yourself. You'll handle it. The surprises are good ones. Yes, really.
You are afraid of so many things. You'll always be a fearful person, I think, but you'll conquer many of your current fears. Disasters lie ahead – but so do triumphs. Yes, even for you. You will discover how brave, how strong you truly are. You think you are lacking, but the truth is this: you are already complete. It's just that no one sees it yet.
And oh, the good things you'll discover. The world has so many good things in it that you have yet to find.
So do not despair, child. Hold on, and keep going. You are right to guard yourself. You are right to keep hold of your soul. Stay the course, child, for your life will get so much better. All you have to do is wait.
And listen: you are loved. Or, you will be. You will be. You will be loved with the kind of love you crave. Your soulmate is already on this planet. Yes, really! You have a soulmate! Trust me: just hold on, and many of your dreams will come true. Even the ones you think are impossible.
It gets better, dear, sad, angry, lonely child. It gets so much better. You will be amazed at how much better and more beautiful your life will become.
Just hold on.
Oh, look: you did.
And it was worth it, no?
