Dear New Version,
You are someone I would have liked to have had as a friend and mentor in my life. Your life is so rich with stories and experiences that I can’t even imagine. And you’ve created a sanctuary of peace and beauty within yourself and in your own little world that I’ve yet to experience. I’m so glad to see that the feelings and inklings I’ve had about my true nature have come to fruition, and you are developing those talents in ways the world has never seen. I’m glad that you are releasing the old stories and creating new ones filled with beauty, hope and magic.
I see how other people feel in your presence, and I really admire that. They feel seen, heard, and safe in your presence. I don’t have that yet in my life and I can’t tell you how much that makes a difference. How do I know people feel seen and safe in your presence? You notice things others don’t. And you appreciate a lot of those things and voice your appreciation without hesitation. I wish I was on the receiving end of one of your compliments. But I also know the compliments others have given you that still resound in your heart. I am amazed that someone has called you a bright light. You received that compliment some time ago, but from my vantage point, that light has become even more magnificent.
You’ve also learned to temper your anger when somebody has evoked your ire. The fire burns inside you and I am in awe of how you don’t let it consume you, but let the flames flicker until they cool before you express yourself. I haven’t learned to do that yet. You’ve released a lot of anger that I unknowingly allow to drive me. I wield my words unknowingly like swords and often unintentionally hurt people, and suffer the backlash. I see how you still get straight to the heart of things; but you have learned to use your voice in a way I haven’t yet.
You still have the swords at your side to wield as well as your shield when you need them though. The boundaries you’ve established mean you don’t have to use them so often anymore because you’ve learned to keep yourself safe while remaining connected to people you value. You are no longer willing to accept things that I still tolerate. I don’t yet realize that I’m worth more than that. You are learning to value yourself more. I see that you still beat yourself up, but you are learning to slow down, to take care of yourself more, and to provide yourself with the love you’ve always been seeking. I see how that self-love and self-mastery make you a giant. I bow at your feet.
I am in awe of the pain you’ve endured and how, instead of letting it warp or destroy you, you’ve walked through the fire and come out the other side transformed by it. You learned to lean into it and I am amazed by how you let it soften you and somehow you are stronger for it. I see how you are listening to your heart now and you discovered wings that I never would have guessed were there. I never dreamt that I could fly and I love seeing you testing your wings and taking flight. I cannot wait to see what adventures await you once you let the wind carry you!
I see how you are slowly letting your inner softness reveal itself on the outside more and more. I see you taking off your armor and learning to surrender to ease and flow. I see there is still that girl who is a warrior and doesn’t hesitate to fight battles, but I see you winning more hearts and not needing to fight as many battles. When you fight battles, you are no longer alone. I see you move through the world in power and unaware of your beauty. It is astonishing. Truly. You don’t see it, but others also watch you in awe.
I see that you still suffer from some wounds that are fresh for me. Thank you for working on healing them. They weigh heavily on me now and I can see that you are releasing the pain to open up new possibilities that neither of us can imagine. I look at you and I’m hopeful for the future.
I love you. You are everything and more that I never knew I could be.
Yours,
Annette

Prowriting Aid Style Score: 100

Dear World,
Love is blossoming within me. Despite the pain I’ve experienced in my lifetime, I am continually reminded that all that really matters is love. I’m continually reminded that we are all made of love and it truly makes the world go round, despite appearances.
Love began to truly blossom when I started fertilizing my inner garden and tilling the ground to grow love for myself. I realized that when I had stored and saved tokens of love from people through the years; I was doing so to prove to myself that I was loved. It really hit home; that I needed to work on self-love when hearing the phrase ‘I love you’ from a social media influencer hit me hard. I realized that I was starved for love and I needed to stop looking for it from the external world. Instead, I had to look within. It started with notes to myself, telling myself that I loved me. That sounds corny, but it impacted me profoundly to see those words every day, and to know that they were authentic.
Developing that self-love helped me establish and hold my boundaries. I knew I had grown when I found myself drawing lines in the sand where before I would have accommodated others at my own expense.
This may sound counterintuitive, but loving myself more also helped me to hold myself accountable in better ways. I’ve always been tough on myself–I don’t mean that I have negative self-talk, but I’ve always put pressure on myself to perform. It has helped me to be successful, but I’ve come to realize that the success has always been at a cost to myself. The stress I place myself under to perform has taken its toll on my body in different ways over the years; some subtle and some not so subtle. Loving myself has helped me to ask myself hard questions about my priorities and to hold myself accountable to ensure my actions are aligned with my priorities. Sometimes that means prioritizing rest and self-care and realizing when I’m pushing myself too hard. I’m learning to value times of non-productivity; I know now that they are the key to my creativity. Loving myself has meant learning to listen to my body more and trying to honor it and its needs instead of forcing it to push through things when it’s tired.
Loving myself has helped me to realize all the innate qualities that I possess that have helped me to be successful. I still have all those qualities and I don’t need to place pressure on myself to be successful. I don’t need to put pressure on myself because those traits will always be there. In learning to appreciate my strength, courage, determination, tenacity, creativity, I’ve realized that I need to honor those and other qualities about myself and that has meant prioritizing myself and committing to my relationship with myself before others. Of course, I slip up from time to time and resort to old patterns and habits, but I know I can always begin again and recommit to myself.
I often look back in time to compare where I was one year ago. This too, has helped me to love myself. I’m not someone who can easily see where I want to be five years from now; but when I look back, I can appreciate how much I’ve grown as a person. As long as I’m still learning and growing, I know the future is bright and I remain hopeful.
In learning to love myself, I have learned that I have developed a greater capacity to love others. It seems as if there is a never-ending supply of it and so I’m not afraid to give it freely by being kind to others in small ways every day. I don’t commit acts of kindness with an agenda or plan. But I’m always glad I do because I’ve found that on days when I need it most, that love comes back to me. On days where my heart hurts or is tired, those refractions of love help my heart to stay open. Those days also feed my hope. It really can be a never-ending cycle—if we let it. It’s not always easy, but it is always worth it.

Pro-Writing Aid Score: 76

Deary Body,
We have not always had an easy relationship. When you were first hurt and violated, we were young I didn’t know it wasn’t our fault. I’m sorry I thought there must be something wrong with us. Thank you for helping me when I sought to become physically strong, thinking that would prevent us from being hurt again. Thank you for responding all the times I pushed your limits. I’m sorry for all the times I didn’t listen to the signals you were sending me. I’m sorry I didn’t know how to interpret them. Thank you for showing me when I needed to slow down and even stop moving. Thank you for healing so well every time my desire to constantly move without rest and proper care forced something to break.
I’m sorry for the times I don’t drink enough water and fuel us with caffeine. I’m sorry for the times I don’t let us get enough sleep. Thank you for carrying me on adventures, running through forests, up mountains, across streams. Thank you for being able to carry heavy weight when I packed my fears on hiking trips, and in life in general.
Thank you for the glory you’ve enabled me to experience. The glory of being a left-handed softball pitcher. The glory of simply being left-handed among multitudes of right-handed people. The glory of sprinting across a rugby pitch alongside teammates who have become life-long friends. The glory of being able to dive for volleyballs, to be part of sports teams. The glory of lifting heavy weights and facing our fears in competition.
Thank you for your ability to translate my creative thoughts into words, drawings, knitting, baked goods. You are so wonderfully capable, and you have enabled me to enjoy life.
I’m sorry for all the times when I felt like I was not enough, that I took it out on you. It was never you who was not good enough, nor was it me. We were always enough. Thank you for bearing the pain of my emotions and for my defiance. Thank you for having the strength to match my spirit, even when I was so courageous I was foolish.
I’m sorry that I spent so much time letting myself believe that your curves were dangerous for us; that I had to hide them in order to stay safe. I’m sorry that I didn’t let myself see your true beauty and I thought your shape was what prevented us from being loved the way we wanted and more importantly, needed.
I’m sorry it took me so long to learn to listen to you, to truly see you and admire you. I’m sorry it took me so long to learn to love you. Thank you for continuing to be your beautiful strong self this whole time. Thank you for showing me how feminine we truly are.
Thank you for the adventures we have yet to embark upon. For the beauty we will experience together. We will still have days of stress, of tension; but we will also have days of joyful movement outdoors. We will have more moments of feeling the ocean breeze in our hair and on our skin. We will taste the salt of the ocean and feel it on our skin. We will be relieved from the sun by cooling waters. We will be sheltered from storms. We will be warmed by blankets and fires on cold blustery days. We will languish in the afternoon sun on the couch or on the deck from time to time. We will try new recipes and taste new foods. We will see many more beautiful sunrises and sunsets. We will hear much more birdsong, the buzzing of bees, the whirring of hummingbirds. Our eyes will feast on the beauty of wildflowers. We will listen to beautiful music that helps us to heal and music that makes us move. We will experience the loving embrace of strong arms around us. We will experience the love we deserve.
I am trying to honor your needs more, trying to find stillness and ease. We will have soft days of comfort. You are safe now; there is no need to hold onto the pain you’ve endured.
I love you.