A letter to seven lovely ladies
Dear Taylor, Courtney, Maire, Sarah, Andrea, Erica, and Jamie,
This letter is for you. This letter is to inspire you. This letter is to show you things you are currently blind to. I want to show you how truly special you are. I want to show you how important you are. Not only to me, Dream On Youth, the family, but to everyone around you. That every person that comes in contact with one of you is blessed. I am honored to currently be working with six of you. I am honored to have worked with you Jamie. Make sure you all read your respected sections after you click on read more. It's something you need to hear and it's something you have to know.
Love,
Cydney
To Taylor,
You are the heart of this team. You are strong yet vulnerable when needed. You are passionate and full of love. You see the beauty in everything and are always there. You touch every heart and open mind that you come into contact with. I've already told you how I feel about you. What I see in you but texts get deleted or lost. This won't.
You are brilliant, darling. You are far wiser than the world knows and you should be proud of that. You know what to say. You know when to say it. You have this way with words and people that is so beautiful to witness. You have this radiant spirit that infects others and brings so much life into a dream. You are a one of a kind beauty and spirit. There is nobody exactly like you.
You are also driven and your talents surpass what you think you're capable of. Life has continuously thrown things at you to take you off course but you get right back up. That dream that we've been talking about lately? Go for it with everything you've got. I believe in you 100%. I know that your grandmother is watching over you and smiling when you do that thing that you love. That she loved. She will be there in spirit at your grand opening. She will be saying how proud of you she is and that she knew you could do it.
It's time for you to push yourself just one extra step. That's all you need and I promise you will soar. You will go places you never even mentioned and do things you never thought of. Your life will be unpredictable and at sometimes stressful but you will be doing something you love. You will be bringing a smile to people's lips. It will be worth every second of stress. It will be worth all the hard work. You deserve to chase this dream without fear and with a support system. So I am here standing behind you and watching you run with it. Run with your chances and dreams. You are phenomenally made to do just that.
Oh and one more thing, you are completely beautiful. You will eventually see that. You will eventually see that you deserve someone who is going to fight to stay with you and do everything in their power to make you happy. You will find your Mad Hatter. He will be the best thing that's ever happened to you and vice versa. He will know you're worthy and he will remind you every day.
To Courtney,
You are the strength in our team. You are the rock on a beach that keeps us grounded when we need it but can easily go with the waves when the tide pulls it in. You keep us focused and driven. You keep us inspired to travel and see new places. To never feel like we are stuck. To know we have endless possibilities.
You are a boss lady in the making. You know what you want and you always go after it. You take on so much and I honestly don't see how you do it. If you ever have had a shadow of a doubt that you were completely incredible, just stop. Take a look at your life and realize everything you've accomplished at your age. Look at what you're doing between the internships, job, being a student, being in a sorority, etc. There is nothing you cannot do. You are an unstoppable force until the moment you stop believing in yourself.
One day you'll be taking over the world and I'll be sitting back going "I knew her when..." I have seen you grow in just a few short months into such an amazing young woman. I have seen you open up. I have seen you go above and beyond. I am so proud to call you a friend and so honored that you work for me. I feel like sometimes it should be the other way around!
The same thing goes for you as far as love. Just keep doing what you love and the rest will follow. You are so gorgeous and you deserve the very best. Don't you settle for less in anything in life than what you truly want. Don't settle for someone who doesn't make you happy. Don't settle for one job for the rest of your life if it's not what you want. Never settle and never give up. You are seriously going to do the most amazing things in your lifetime. I cannot wait to see what you do in the next year alone.
To Maire,
You are the glue that holds us together. Just like Courtney, you are strong but you also keep us connected. You are constantly putting others before yourself. You are so selfless and such a lovely person. You supported me before you even knew who I was as a person. You supported all of us.
I want you to take a second and breathe. Deep breaths. Remember what you feel like when you dance. Remember that it brings you joy. Remember that you are capable of every single thing you think you want to do in life. Now go off and chase your dreams. Whatever they are. Write because you love it. Forget what other people will say. Carry a journal around with you and write every time you feel inspired. Write a letter to yourself. Write because your emotions tell you to. Write just because.
Whatever self doubt you have will only breed its self until you say "enough is enough." Until you decide that you deserve to be happy and love yourself without regret. You will, as you say, have to "punch fear in the face." Stop worrying because it doesn't help you. It won't get you to the places you want to go. You will stay hidden until you let go. Let go of that doubt, my dear. Let go of everything that holds you back and dance to your wishes that lay in the stars.
You are beautifully made to not only do all of this but to change lives just by being yourself. There's something about talking to you that immediately just makes me so inspired and happy. There's something about you that touches every single person and makes them want to do better. You have that power. To inspire the masses. To change the world just by doing what you were born to do. Never forget that and you'll be more than fine. You'll be grand.
To Sarah,
You are the light of our group. You are seriously like the brightest ray of sunshine and probably the most adorable person. You are so ready to go out of your way to help others. Like Maire, you've developed this ability to be selfless. You've done it so early on too. I honestly wish I had been more like you at that age. I wish I had been more driven and driven to do my very best at everything I do.
This quality you developed is the most beautiful thing, not only because most people seem to lack it nowadays. No, it's so beautiful because you have been through so much. You have been through some things that I couldn't even imagine and even though it made you cold for so long. You found your way back to the light. Listen to me, they did not win. They never even came close to it. Who is standing up with her eyes on the sky? You. Who is chasing her wildest dreams and living a happy life? You. Who is using her experiences to help others, to inspire, to grow? You.
You are so much stronger than you realize. You are such a rare person to know. You are something that flourished in darkness and came out even brighter than the North Star. You have that quality that cannot be stolen or diminished. It is bred in your heart and spreads like wildfire to those who are open to it.
As far as your dreams? You already know what I think. You are extremely talented. You will make it in music in any way you wish. The path may not always be straight but you will get to where you want to be. I tried to make a video yesterday but I realized it would be too long. I was saying how you could easily be the next Taylor Swift had she stayed more in the country genre. I realized I didn't want you to feel limited either though. You can go into whatever genre but you possess that one star quality that Taylor does. You can change lives with your music. The songs you send us that you've written, beautiful. Don't stop writing your music. Don't stop singing. Don't stop because you feel like you can't make it. Stop when you feel like it's something you don't want. You are capable of everything you ever imagined sweetheart. It's all just waiting for you down the road.
To Andrea,
My other little writer. My journalist-to-be. My wise-beyond-her-years friend who I sometimes feel like is my sister. (May have something to do with you being nearly the same age as my brother.) You are so beyond brilliant and talented. I don't understand how you weren't already working for a magazine internship when you came to me. You have this way with words when you write, even when you speak, that is impeccable to see and hear. If you ever write a book, you better believe I will come buy it at full price and get it autographed. (I don't do that.)
You are concerned with knowing how changing a life feels. You want to understand how much joy it can bring and give. Here's the shocker, you've been changing lives since before you started working with us. You changed your family's lives for the better. You changed your friends' lives for the better and I know you changed our lives for the better. I know you really want to feel that impact of hearing someone say "you changed my life." It will happen. But I want you to understand that you are already doing it. People may not say it but you are changing their life every day. It may be subtle but it's happening.
That tough time you and your family are going through right now? Keep your head up. Pray. Don't stress and worry. Try to make every moment count and remain positive. Your heart is so big and you are so caring. You will get through this. You are not alone.
To Erica,
The youngest of us all and still so inspiring in your own right. I always forget how young you are but mostly because you are so mature for your age. You are concerned with health, volunteering, and helping people in general. I wasn't really like that when I was that young! You are such a great role model for younger girls. You work hard when it comes to your school work but you never stop dreaming. I mean you started your own fashion blog and have an internship! How many people can say that at your age?
You haven't always been so positive and I understand that. I've been there. I just want you to remember that you can do this. You can stomp over any obstacle. You will get places. You are still young so enjoy your time with your friends and family. Try not to stress so much. Everything will come in time as long as you keep working hard at the things you want. You are so smart, so sweet, and so brave. You are doing things most people never get the guts to do.
You are this beautiful person who has so much ahead of her. I know you don't always feel like you have a support system but you do. Every single one of us is here for you whether you need to cry, scream, or jump up and down from excitement. We are watching you grow up before our eyes and we couldn't be any prouder of who you're becoming. Never stop believing in yourself or taking those steps towards your goals. You'll get there.
To Jamie,
You're probably wondering why I'm writing to you. We're all worried about you. We all know what's kind of going on but we know there's probably a lot of things we don't know. We care about you. We want you happy. We want you to go off into next year and just live your life for you. Do things you've always wanted to do, even if they scare you.
You are such a beautiful, encouraging, loving person but you worry too much about what could go wrong for yourself. You forget to take care of yourself and fall in love with yourself first at times. You forget that you are capable of the impossible and can overcome anything. You have to apply the same principles you tell other people to yourself. Write little notes to yourself to remind you of how truly unique you are.
You are so loved and we miss you terribly. We are here even if you think we've forgotten. We could never forget about someone who impacted our lives so much. Who made us stop and reflect. Who inspired us daily. Who made us believe in magic. (Yeah I went there.) We are never going to forget what you've done for us and we will never stop believing in you.
So on your way home, reflect on everything you've accomplished up until that point. Enjoy time with your friends, family, your boyfriend. Enjoy time to get to know yourself again and get to know yourself better. Find the time to spoil yourself every now and then. You deserve it and so much more, my love. You deserve the world and I cannot wait until the day when you finally see that.
I love all of you so much. You are the best interns a girl could ask for. Jamie, you are always a part of our family and I am so honored to have the opportunity to say I worked with her "way back when...". Never stop dreaming, loves. Never doubt yourself; whether it be your beauty, brilliance, or bravery.
- Cydney