A Children’s House for the Soul asked me to write a letter to my younger self at a time when I didn’t feel like a masterpiece and I wanted to share with y’all because I really enjoyed writing it! Writing this letter brought back a lot of memories from when I was struggling, but it also helped me to realize the impact so many amazing people have made on my life. I am so happy now with my skin and just where I’m at in life in general! Thanks for reading!!

Dear 8-year-old Mia,

You might feel weak, beaten down, and broken right now from all the medicines people told you will help you in the long run. You long to look normal, so that the prying questions will disappear. People ask you questions you barely understand yourself. It feels as if no one will ever understand you and all your struggles. Everyone is searching for a way to fix you, and that will make you think there is something about you that is flawed. You begin to take in all that is happening and wonder, why me? You miss so much sitting for hours hooked up to machines and being tested. It is both mentally and physically exhausting. But what you will soon realize, is that God created you perfectly. You do not need to be fixed. You are perfect just the way you are. Through every doctor’s appointment and medical procedure, you learn to focus on the positive things and seek out God’s love in your life. Eventually, you learn to see the beauty in all things. You will look back on all the pain to realize how much it shaped you into the beautiful person you are today. Your pain will allow you to support others in their suffering. You will realize how much your friends and family stood up for you when strangers said rude things out of ignorance. After years of staying quiet, you will speak out against those who were wrong to make fun of your skin. One day, you will finally realize you made it to the other side, through the support of the amazing people you have surrounded yourself with, you finally love the skin you’re in.

Mia