Dear Melissa,

Today I woke thinking of you, your dreams, your hurts, and your hopes for the future.

You are special and the world needs you. You will face hard things in life, that is a given. But in the face of adversity you will rise like the warrior you are and use your inner strength to garner a power of healing beyond any trauma you have or will face. You will change the course of your life and that of many others.

How do I know this you may wonder?

I was once like you, assaulted at the age of 20, hurt and broken. I worried I would never be whole again and believed my trauma would define me. I sought out support of trusted people. I began journaling my feelings of hurt, healing, and hope. It was not until I read those pages 20 years later I realized my younger self left me the keys to much needed healing and future thriving. I carry her messages each day as a person now healed encouraging and inspiring others to do the same. If it had not been for the girl I was and her writings, I may not have become the woman I am today.

Today sweet Melissa, I sense you are going through an especially rough time and are worried about what your own future holds. I encourage you to write, perhaps as I am doing now, to be able to remind yourself and myself just how much we are loved and how we can both get through the hard parts of life and turn the mess into a meaningful message.

Know that you are not alone no matter the distance, time, and space. I hope someday you will
write yourself a letter with the wisdom from the next steps in your own journey of resilience through healing and finding joy. I know it is hard to believe that you will find joy, but I am certain you will find joy and thrive even more because of it. You have the keys and they will reveal themselves to you over time as you become open to receiving them.

So, take a deep breathe, you got this! We got this.

Sending you continued healing and hope always,
With love,
Melissa