You are this incredible treasure, a shining jewel in the shape of a girl or boy (or unicorn), & you have no idea. You are a gift. Your presence here is important, your thoughts & dreams & loves & heartache enrich the world. Realise how cherished & amazing you are, right now. You will not be any more wonderful or valuable when you lose ten pounds, or become a millionaire, or get married.

Recognise what you are & make a promise that you will be a love letter to the universe forever, a valentine to all the people & all the stars. The more love you give away, the more true it becomes, & while it can be hard at first, it gets easier — I promise, pinky-swear. You & I are in alignment. This is our secret pact. Write it down & keep it close. I will do my best & you do yours, okay?

Decide to fall in love with the world & it will swoop you up in its arms & smother you with kisses. You will get all your joy & excitement back a million times over. This is real, this is how it works. Even when you feel hard & cold & angry, you have more love to give away than you could ever believe possible. It is infinite like galaxies. Just give it away. Imagine cartoon hearts in hot pink & vivid red floating out of your chest & popping over the heads of everyone, showering them with hope & blessings & encouragement, & your life will begin to change. It will become this sparkling carousel of magic & wonder.

I love you & I believe in you & you deserve to be happy, always.

This piece I wrote will appear in Lindsey Markel’s upcoming zine, You Are Among Friends — details as I have them!