A Well Penned and Equally Well Deserved Letter to my Genius, Idiot, Self

This is staff writer Emily Diaz here, back with a letter to all those men and women out there who doubt themselves, myself included!

Hello. I am something of an intellectual. Well, I’d like to think. You see I’ve read Macbeth and I’ve taken AP Literature and AP US History and well, I work damn hard in my academics. I work so hard sometimes I forget. Sometimes I forget that on top of being someone who is considered by some (here’s me hoping) to know quite a few things and have good insights and yada yada yada… I am profoundly lost in life. When I say lost, I mean that I forget my self-worth and I get lost in doubt. I lose out in the big war between who I can be and who I am too afraid to be. It is a huge shame but the point is that I am working on it. I will probably be working on it for as long as I live. So as that journey progresses I would like to share some insights to any fellow intelligent, strong, insecure, and consequently absurd women and men to have the nerve to doubt themselves. Enjoy.

Who you are and who you will be are not the same person right now and honestly, that’s okay.

• It’s human nature to get wound up in the idea of who we want to be that we forget to actually work on it in the present moment
  —I speak not as a wannabe psychologist but rather a fellow human being who is tired of putting herself down and seeing others do the same— focus your efforts and energy on a plan to becoming your best self, not contemplating on why you’re not who you want to be yet.

Two words: Self-Care.

• My only corny line is coming and it is… when your skin glows so does your attitude. Now, now, I am by no means suggesting that you need to hop online and log back into those Ulta Beauty accounts and stock up on the most expensive products, start a regiment and print out a schedule, laminate the schedule and religiously worship the newfound beauty routine Emily ordered you to set up. What I am saying though, is that you need to take care of your body and treat it with the respect and dignity it deserves in order to emulate that positive energy into your everyday mindset

Take the time throughout your day, even if it’s just fifteen minutes, to treat yourself in the ways you know you need and would appreciate.

I personally have been indulging in a tasteful combination of:

fifteen minute Korean face masks

with the simultaneous burning of my Sweet Frosting Yankee Candle accompanied by:

NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts

playing in the background. Try it, it’s delightful.

Accept nothing else but the best or at the very least, the best intentions.

• I emphasize this with no light humor because it’s invaluable. Everyone needs people and so while we may want to be loners who succeed alone and always depend on themselves to raise their spirits up, I implore that if you find even a single person with good intentions for your friendship, keep them around. It’s painful to feel alone in a room that isn’t empty, but it’s worse when you’re the one who’s invited those people over and still feel alone. Do yourself justice and surround yourself with people who aren’t toxic and who want the best for you just as you want for them (it is a two way street). Even though you have no idea of who I actually am, trust me, the feeling is unparalleled.

If you made it to the end, you most definitely deserve a Korean face mask.