Dear Younger Me

Dear Younger Me

If I could talk to the girl who almost gave up, here’s what I’d tell her.

Dear younger me,

You were so full of questions the world didn’t have answers for.
I remember you at ten years old — bright-eyed, curious, and trying to make sense of a pain far too heavy for your age. When our family got that call that one of your foster brothers had taken his life, you didn’t fully understand what that meant. You just knew it hurt.

You sat quietly in your room that night, wondering why someone so kind, so full of life, would choose to leave the world. You didn’t have the words for it then, but that was your first encounter with grief — and with the mystery of mental pain that hides behind smiles.

You didn’t know it yet, but that moment would plant the seed of empathy that would one day become your mission.

Years later, when you lost your grandfather in 1984, that ache returned. You learned how deeply loss shapes love — and how grief becomes a teacher that never really leaves.

Then came 2011, the year you almost gave up.
You thought you had failed, that your life no longer had meaning. You were exhausted, lost, and broken. But you survived — and that survival became the foundation for everything that came after.

In July 2021, when your baby brother died by suicide, your heart shattered all over again. He was the one who made you laugh when you wanted to cry — the one you swore you’d always protect. Losing him changed everything. It turned your pain into purpose, and your heartbreak into a mission to keep his memory alive.

And then, in June 2024, when you lost your dear friend — someone who had believed in your dream and helped you build your first storefront — you were reminded once more that grief doesn’t end. But neither does love.

If I could reach back and hold your face in my hands, I’d tell you this:

You were never broken.
You were becoming.

Every tear, every scar, every loss — they were shaping you into the woman who would one day stand tall and say, “My story isn’t over.”

You’ll turn your pain into purpose. You’ll build a brand that carries hope into the world. You’ll speak for those who can’t. And through it all, you’ll keep finding light — even in the darkest places.

So don’t give up, sweet girl.
One day, you’ll understand why you had to walk through the fire.
One day, you’ll see that everything you endured became someone else’s lifeline.

💛 Your story is still being written — and it’s one of strength, faith, and love without end.