Dear young me, I know you’re having the best time of your life right now because it’s your birthday and you are at your aunt’s house. You’re so happy that it’s your birthday, you’re turning seven and are getting an awesome birthday cake. I know you got a mini doll house and a giant one that very same year. You got used vintage Barbies from your auntie’s co-worker. Your auntie bought Happy Meals, ate them and saved up the toys that you wanted from there. Your face lit up as soon as you woke up because you immediately knew that today was your day. You also hung out with your neighbor/best friend back then and she stayed the entire day, playing with you and entertaining you. You got awesome presents and got to be around the perfect family… or is it?
You realized that she always gave you USED stuff right? The only new ones are the cheap toys that you’d get at the dollar store. The price of the new toys will increase over the years. How your mom always warned you to pick items that are in the lower price ranges. I know you might be confused on why your future self just said that. But please trust me. THEY are not who you think they are. You’re getting this letter like a warning about what is yet to come. I don’t want to scare you, but I just want you to be prepared for what’s ahead. You would learn A LOT from life. Life will not go easy on you after certain things happen. You have had such a fun life so far and I am glad you did because you are truly enjoying your childhood. You know how you have an auntie in St. Ann Missouri? And you ABSOLUTELY love her with your entire heart? Just know that you’ve only ever seen one side of the moon, never the other. The same thing goes with people within this society, you won’t get to know people’s true colors until it is too late.
Step-auntie, step-uncle and step-grandma were never, I mean NEVER were kind to you or your mother, grandpa, or grandma. You as well as them were treated TERRIBLY. They have manipulated you into thinking they’re always right while constantly making YOUR OWN MOTHER suffer, she has to spend HER hard earned money for THEIR groceries for the rest of the month, and it wasn’t cheap each time. They poisoned you, making you drink expired medication and eat expired food from years ago, YEARS AGO without you knowing anything. The best part is that your auntie works IN A PHARMACY. SHE OBVIOUSLY KNOWS THAT EXPIRED MEDICATION, ESPECIALLY FROM YEARS AGO IS BAD. But did she do anything? NO! SHE EVEN ENCOURAGED IT. She was so proud of herself that she did that when she texted her friends about it, and they hyped her up for it. They made you shovel the snow for their whole yard, in NEGATIVE degree weather with nothing but an autumn jacket on so that your step-uncle doesn’t have to do it. They made you water the plants even when it’s REALLY sunny. They also made you cut down tree branches, and yes, you almost lost an eye because of it. They didn’t even bother to care when YOUR GRANDPA died because of an accident, they just brushed it off like it was nothing.
THEIR main goal was to erase you. But they don’t want YOU to know that. They instead want to SLOWLY erase you because you’re benefiting THEM. By always wanting to go to their house and let YOUR MOTHER spend all the money because she’s too kind to stand up for herself. The only reason behind your weakened immune system is THEM. You only ever know this now because you only saw what they did good, which was to spoil you, you IGNORED their flaws and the warning signs life and your mom gave you. You only ever know this through our grandma. She found out that they were poisoning you and made you go through hell on earth. She saw their bad side that you missed because you’re too focused on their “good”.
I was HORRIFIED when I first heard this myself. How someone that I TRUSTED WITH MY WHOLE HEART can betray me like that. How they made such a good first impression that once you labeled them as a good person, it can never be erased because it already covered up all of the flaws. But that doesn’t mean you should SHOW them that you visibly hate them with your entire heart. You have to show that you like them, while knowing inside real well that they are terrible people. But also be thankful for them, not because of the bad things they did, but what they’ve shown you. They show you that you shouldn’t trust every person you meet. They showed you that you shouldn’t just trust the outer part of a person. Get to know their inner demons too. Learn their TRUE colors and defend yourself from more harm.
Also, don’t give up on me now. I know you’ve got this. When life shoves you down just like they did, stand back up and push back at it. Show others as well as them that you’re a worthy human. You’re worth attention, you’re worth true love, you’re worth it. It sounds crazy to you now but eventually you’ll hear my words. One day, you might understand. People don’t stay with you forever. People won’t stay truthful with you forever. People won’t love you forever. When you’ll eventually know this secret, you’ll have to carry it forever because you can’t trust those who’ve known you since forever. You don’t know who they truly are.
You will eventually grow up with stress, separation anxiety and sensitivity because of the things you’re going to go through. I want you to take your new knowledge carefully. Make sure you don’t break the glass ball that it’s kept in or else all of the secrets will fall out to the world and everyone will know what you’re going through. The world is cruel to you. But that doesn’t mean you should give up because you are a survivor. You’re worth living every day. I know you’ve pushed through nothing yet but when you’ve arrived at your first challenge, remember my words. Nobody is worth winning your head controls.
Don’t fall because failure, life and shame shoved you real hard. You’re a hero, a star, an awesome person, kind, beautiful and you should keep it that way, don’t let it slip away. I really hope you will take my advice seriously. Trust yourself and your instincts. You’re also your greatest enemy. I know I just told you to trust yourself yet I also said that you’re your own enemy, but it’s sadly true. If you can’t beat your own negative thoughts that try to cover your clear vision, then other obstacles will feel even worse. But trust your positive self. And have your negative one there to keep you safe. You’re not alone, you’d have people you’ll live for. So push through those shoves so you could see the other side of the moon. And let me tell you, it’s ugly.
Minda Huynh – Roycemore School – DMSF Class of 2029
Photo Credit: ryuichi niisaka – Adobe Stock