By Samantha McKenzie

You are beautiful. It’s true. You were born into a world that was ready and waiting for you. Your arrival was met with the warmth and love of others and your very presence filled the room with an unimaginable joy. Planned or unplanned, someone prepared for your coming. You were so special that others adjusted their thinking and made room in their lives for your entry. Your birth was the truest meaning of love at first sight.

You are unique. No need to compare yourself to others. You were born with your own distinct purpose that can’t be duplicated (although many will try). Just like your thumbprint, no one else can match what you came to do. Your only job is to search for your purpose and find the one thing that you were born to do.

You can admire others – entertainers, athletes, and people in the spotlight as much as you like. It won’t matter. You can surround yourself with people you want to be like. You can follow your parents’ dreams for you in hopes for their nod of approval, but the truth is, you will not be satisfied. You were meant to fulfill your own purpose.

You are gifted. Accept it. Your job is to find out what it is. There’s one particular thing you do ever so well. When you are doing it, you get excited. Your gift comes natural to you. It will challenge you some days, but you won’t have the courage to leave it alone. It has the power to light you up and to give you renewed energy, just when you think you want to quit. It was placed in you with great intention.

So go ahead. Be your beautiful, gifted self. No one else can.