One month ago, through my social media accounts, I shared this picture along with these words.

To the young teen mom, you are going to make it. 

That little girl who changed your world, hold on tight. It is going to be a wild and wonderful ride. 

To the suddenly single mom, yes, some days are even harder than you imagined; but, you have always been stronger than you know. And now that you know, you will not forget. 

And their smiles, their brains that were always going, and their potential that was literally blossoming even on the messiest days… keep holding on and holding them. 

It is all worth it. Keep holding on. And as you are holding on, rest as well. Rest in the knowledge that they and you are worth all that it takes. 

-Michelle Scotton Franklin

Nov 8, 2022

This writing started as what I call “Dear Me” I knew it applied to others.

I wrote it for me. I shared it for them.

And hearing how people resonate with it, and hearing the conversations it spurred, for others made me feel a more connected. It is another reminded that our suffering is not wasted.

What about you?

Have you written an unedited, nothing but the truth “Dear Me”? How might it go?

• What age “you” needs to hear from you?

• Does “past you” need to be celebrated? Is there angst “current you” could really benefit from setting down?

• Could “future you” benefits from hope being stoked within?

Sure we can process this in our minds, but there is something about paper and pen and seeing our own worths as our truth in front of us. Something makes it more intentional… more sacred.

What if you wrote the words—

Dear Me...

And wait to see what happens next?

Not what “should happen” and not what you “could” say…

But simply leave space for the words to flow non judgmentally

Dear Me…

We need to talk

Dear Me…

I’m so proud of you

Dear Me…

my heart is broken… again. Am I going to make it?

Dear Me…

you are not alone.

Dear Us… we never were alone. We are not alone in the highs or the lows. Through our joys and our sadnesses, via our delights and our fears, we know more clearly what matters most to us and to those we love. So these are not times we need to hold back or be silent.

We are always worth fighting for. Those parts of us are looking for the invitation to speak and be fully known.