Dear me: An essay to my past self by Kennedy

Dear me: An essay to my past self by Kennedy - July 2025 Scholarship Essay

If I were able to go back in time and tell younger me one thing, it would be this: it's going to be okay. I know it doesn't feel like it, and right now the whole world seems to be caving in on itself, but I promise, it will be okay. You will find people and lose people. You think you have everything figured out and then realize nothing is what you thought. You lose your dad and almost lose your mom. You'll spend a lot of time happy, but you'll have some awful days. And that is okay. You learn to prioritize yourself and gain confidence that you thought was not meant for someone like you. I would tell my younger self to stop hurting so much. To let some of that sadness, that anger, that grief go and let it be free. Because your pain can be valid without reliving it every day. You don't have to make people like you. The people who you should care about will love you for who you are no matter what. Even if that's scary. But mainly I just want to give younger me a hug. She didn't need someone to tell her all of these things because, knowing me, I wouldn't have really listened to any of them. But what I really could've used was a hug. A long, no-strings-attached, warm, and loving hug.