By. Alexys Rushing

Dear future daughter,

Dear little sisters,

Dear friends,

Dear self,

Being a woman can be such an exhausting blessing.

Things can't always be so nice, sometimes it can get messy.

And oftentimes our lips, and our hips, and our unmanicured tips can feel like a curse

But I want you to love the goddess that you're staring at and glaring at and constantly

comparing to

airbrushed advertisements telling us we must be flawless even in our ride home, in a hearse.

But I want you to love the light radiating from your eyes,

your morning crusty eyes, your puffy red eyes,

Spent too long crying because the clothes they make for us with distracting designs,

They just don't ever look right in your “size”

And certainly never last as long (or cost as low) as when you shop in the guys’.

And I’m so sorry that in your life, you have to come to find that

Your tits will elicit explicit tidbits from ignorant bigots

that deny their gift of life

and your right to give it

And I’m so sorry that this world that we live in breeds hate for our women

But you must not give in

The fight’s not between us to begin with

Dear future daughters and little sisters,

I ask you to be different

I dare you to be different

I need you to be different

Dear fellow women,

Dear friends,

I implore you to find the fire inside of you

Find the flame that can’t be contained, to spark about a world of change

Dear mothers and teachers,

The only way we can turn this vicious cycle around, is if we burn it all down and

Let fresh life sprout from the ashes of the women set up to fail before us as

They passed the torch down.

Dear self,

It can be too easy to fall into this pattern of thinking, but you must keep in mind

It's the hate that we're shrinking

So you must be brave, to fight against what the world has

engraved in your brain

It's as small of a fix as changing what you say,

to brighten and lift a random person's day.

Now tell yourself to:

Learn to love the skin you're in, but

Learn to love the skin you're not.

And tell yourself that:

You are a Queen.

Ruling fearlessly in the land that is yours

Let your words provide shelter for all who will take it

Let compassion be your weapon in all wars you must engage in

Let the blood and the tears that we shed when we're down be the diamonds and rubies you

wear in your crown

Dear self,

You're a warrior.

Stand proud.

You earned it, you are worth it

Dear self, you are important.

Dear fellow women,

I stand with you

Dear women of color,

I stand with you

Dear trans women,

I stand with you

Dear queer women,

I stand with you

Dear friends, and men,

We stand together.

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A Letter for the Better