Remember This: To Be Perfectly Imperfect Is Perfectly Good Enough

We learned in science class
that pressure
makes diamonds
out of coal
there is so much pressure
to be perfect
I don’t want to be
a flawless cushion cut
bought from a velvet case
where I was kept on display

I want to be
the seafoam green
smooth center edges sharp
ocean tumbled piece of sea glass
someone discovers
on the shore
and says, she is imperfect
but she is exactly
what I’ve been looking for

Dear child,

It’s a big, big world out there, and the older you grow, the more people will try to tell you how you should be different. I hope you remember that there are nearly 200 countries on this planet; each has its own ideals of beauty. You will be told you are too much of one thing and too little of something else.

I hope you remember that the first time your mother laid eyes upon you, all she saw was love. The next time you start looking in the mirror at all the things you want to change, I hope you remember that when you came into this world, there were people who looked at you and thought you were the most perfectly formed human they had ever seen. There still are people who look at you and thank the universe each time for giving them such a precious gift.

I hope you remember that where you see things you dislike, they see all that is good and beautiful wrapped up in laughter and the things that make you uniquely you.

I hope you always remember that there is no such thing as universal perfection, and to be perfectly imperfect is perfectly good enough.