I get an email like the one I'm about to share with you at least once a day. It's time I address this topic publicly.
(with the senders permission of course)


Dear Ellie,


"Believing in my morals has been difficult for me because my peers think that I am unwilling to go out and party and do things that I really would like to. It's not that I don't want to party it's just that I don't want to take part in stuff like drinking alcohol. I used to be really close with my friends but when I tried to tell them that I wanted to stop drinking, they stopped texting me to hangout. Now I feel like I'd rather have my friends than God, I'm so lost and SO scared that I am going to get rejected....."




Girls,


I've been in this moment.
I just want to scream.
I've been in this moment.


There is a flip-side.
I promise you, there is a flip side.


Most everyone who walks away from God as a teenager, is fearful.


Fearful to lose friends, fearful to make enemies, fearful to get rejected, just fearful.....


I talk a lot about fear here on this little corner of the internet.
Maybe that's because I'm filled with it.


It's frustrating because I know that as life progresses- I will personally find fear in everything.
I have learned quickly though- that I am not alone.
As a teenage girl, the biggest fear that I toggle with is acceptance.


I am full of this fear.
Cry myself to sleep, lay awake all night, think about it until I cry- scared of acceptance.
So trust me when I say- I UNDERSTAND.


I have different values, beliefs, and expectations of this world.
High school is a wild place most commonly known for the average teenage individual's inability to accept.


It is in this fact that I conceptualize the reality that I really am quite different from many of my peers.
My beliefs, my understanding of this world, my choice to live faithfully, my choice to share publicly-
all very un-sixteen.


All very unique.
Girls, you are unique.


The biggest lesson comes when you learn that being different is okay.
The way we dress. The way we believe. The way we exist on this planet.....
These are OUR decisions.


They do not need acceptance.
People are full of opinions.
Teenagers are full of opinions.


You can let these opinions eat at you.
Or you can rise above them.

You can spend the rest of your life molding to these opinions.
Or you can spread your wings out of even your own comfort zone to new heights.


Darling girls,


When you get dressed in the morning I want you to get dressed from the inside out.
Put on your love. Put on your understanding. Put on your gentle. Put on your patience.


Conquer the world with your lovely smile.
This is not a competition.


There are no awards but the way your heart feels at the end of the day.
Whatever it is you choose to do, do it boldly.


Be bold in your skin.
Don't back down.


Being fearful and moving forward is the most fearless thing you'll ever do.