Once upon a time, there was a little girl who loved to dress up, play with her dolls, and explore the muddy creek in her backyard with the neighbours. She was strong-headed, full of imagination, and not afraid of anyone or anything -- except for spiders. She was the kind of girl who believed that she was invincible and that she was stronger than any and every boy -- which often got her many cuts and bruises, yet never seemed to damage her spirit or determination. She was loud, crazy, full of energy, and probably very annoying, but she never let the opinions of her peers affect her. Similarly, she was a bragger, like most other kids. She bragged about her grades, she bragged about her family’s vacations, and she loved to brag about her sister most of all. She saw the beauty in everything and she was superman in her own eyes.

      But eventually, the little girl grew up, and with adolescence comes insecurities and doubts. The little girl no longer loved herself like she used to and it appeared to her as if their was nothing about herself that was worthy of praisal. Her long blonde hair, which used to make her look like Cinderella, was now frizzy, wild, and gross -- along with being many shades darker than the beautiful blonde color of Cinderella’s hair. Her short height, which used to make her excel at hide and seek, now impeded her and made her feel like a bug under the shoes of everyone else. She became a mix of loud, crazy, and annoying when around her friends, and shy, quiet, and mousy when they weren’t. She learned to trap her feelings inside, to keep her head down, and to blend into the crowd -- and she slowly started to kill the loud and crazy girl that was within her. She was discouraged from being the “tomboy” that she was in elementary school and told that boys only liked “girly-girls”. So, she stopped wearing the super hero shirts and boot cut jeans that she loved, attempted to tame her wild and wavy hair, and became a giggling schoolgirl who was seen and not heard. However, unbeknownst to the public, she was drowning inside of her own mind. It seemed as if everything was dark and dreary and in her own eyes, she was useless and unimportant.

      Flash forward a couple of years, the young girl was able to pull herself out of the dark times and into the light. However, she will never be the energetic and vibrant young girl that she once was, but with support from the people who care about her and positive thinking she’ll never go back to being the sad girl either. She becomes sad every once and a while, like most people do, but she makes a point never to stay sad. She learned from her past and is now able to see all of the light and the dark in the world around her, but chooses to focus on the light. She looks for the positive aspects inside of every person and inside of herself. She lives in the moment and believes in forgiveness, but still needs to remind herself to be more confident and put herself out there more often, no matter what the consequences are. She is appreciative of everything, she looks out for everyone, and she knows who she is more than ever before. In her own eyes, she is beautiful, she is intelligent, and she is strong.