Dear Human,

I hope beyond hope this letter is finding you well. I have been watching you for a long time now. I understand that sounds creepy, and I apologize for behaving in such a socially unacceptable manner.
The reason I have been watching you is this: You are struggling to see the value in YourSelf.
I understand this, as I, too, have struggled to see the value in MySelf.
For a long time I battled with The S.A.D.S. “S” for “Sincere”, “A” for “Anguish”, “D” for “Described”, “S” for “Shallowly.”
S.A.D.S. and I were not great friends, however I always found MySelf craving its comfort. It was always there when I had no one else. It never left me, never made me do anything I didn’t feel like doing. All it really required of me was to be in bed. Which, that’s kind of nice, right?
I couldn’t get away from it. It wanted me near it. It wanted me held hostage in its soft comfortable safe cocoon. I loved it, the doing nothing.
I hated what came after. After I was forced to exit my safe hovel by being invited out by “caring friends”. Every time I was invited out, I hated it. I disliked it so much that eventually, I stopped going. Excuse after excuse: Sorry, I’m not feeling well! Oh no, my vehicle is in disrepair, I apologize! So sorry, I need to stay home and take care of my sick cat.
I do not own a cat.
Eventually, the caring friends that wanted to check in with me and make sure I was doing OK stopped calling. They stopped texting, messaging, and video-chatting. They ceased their attempts to participate in any form of communication with me.
This made the S.A.D.S. hold on me all the more stronger. Soon, not only was I staying in my comfortable bed, but I was also no longer doing anything that previously brought me even small amounts of joy. For example, I no longer sowed the seeds of various fruits I’d eaten to attempt to grow them in my garden (I was successful once!). I no longer held myself up on my hands in order to test my strength. I no longer wrote words on a blank surface as a form of self-expression…this was the most devastating of losses. Not writing words, no longer writing my stream of thoughts out in the form of poetry, prose, and other delicious word-art, caused me to become lost.
Lost. This is what The S.A.D.S. wanted most of me.
Once I was sufficiently lost, it was very hard for me to find my way back. I attempted several times. I drank various tinctures and teas, I ate many delicious foods, and I watched a lot of crime entertainment. However big (or small) my attempts, I always found myself in a ball under my covers, bawling.

This is embarrassing to admit, but it took a very long time for me to ask for help.

I was certain I would crawl my way back to myself.

I had never been lost for too long before.

It was so long that, when I finally called on one of my caring friends, she informed me she had a baby. That was a shock. I cried.
She came over, with her baby, a loaf of freshly baked bread, and a pen and blank surface.
Her baby rolled around the room happily while we wrote. My friend would ask me prompts, like, “What makes you feel empty,” and the reverse, “What makes you feel full.”
She spoke and I wrote. We went on like this until her babe needed food. She hugged me before picking up her baby and leaving. When she hugged me, she whispered in my ear, “You can do this. Please don’t leave again. I believe in you.”
I stood there behind the closed door. I let her words somersault around in my brain. I sat down, picked up the pen and blank surface, and wrote.

This is what I say to you now, dear Human.
You are more than you believe yourself to be.
You matter, dear Human. You are worthy of your friends’ wanting to spend time with you.
You are enough. What you are doing in this moment is enough. Even if you’re reading this letter in your underwear and eating icecream out of its container (I’ve seen many humans do that in situational comedies).

I know you must be shocked. I came here to meet with your world leader and, “This is what this alien chooses to say?”
Yes. This is what I, an intergalactic being who has traveled to hundreds of different galaxies, choose to say.
It is the most important thing to say.

Thank you for existing.

Best,

Zenna