In my AP Language class we were given the assignment to write a letter to someone describing a lesson we had learned. I decided to write this to my 8 year old niece who is trying to fit in and is already dealing with some girl drama at school.

             Dear Kylie,

       Don't even try to fit in. It'll do you really no good. Because soon you'll be just like the rest, and you'll never truly be understood. Don't be afraid to stand for what's right. Don't be afraid to stand out. Because a hill with a tree that stands by itself, is more beautiful than one without.

Dare to be different. Believe me, I've been where you're at, I know how you feel. It's easier to fit in than to chose your own path. Trust me, I've participated in the gossip, tried to blend in. And you want to know a secret? It never made me happy, not even a bit. You know what did make me happy though? The day I stopped worrying about what others thought of me. You see Kylie, the most important thing in this life is not how others feel about you but rather how you feel about yourself. At the end of the day, are you the person you wish to be? I'm not asking you if you are the person everyone around you is pretending they want to be. You see you are destined for greatness. You have more potential than you will ever understand. Stop blending in with the crowd. Stop trying to be one of them. Because you are not them, you are you. And you are the most wonderful you there could be. Kylie, close your eyes for a minute. Imagine a field of yellow daisies. All of them are the same shade of yellow, the same size, hardly different at all. However in the center of this field is a glorious red tulip. Now open your eyes. Do you remember a single individual daisy, or is it just a yellow blur? But surely, you remember the tulip. The one flower that was different from the rest. The yellow daisies were beautiful, it's true. But the red tulip was magnificent because it was one of a kind.

        Kylie, nobody is ever remembered for fitting in. Elvis Presley didn't become a legend because he decided to pluck a few strings on his guitar and sing a couple of ballads that had already been sung. He went down in history because he gave birth to Rock and Roll, he went down in history because his music was different. Then there's Thomas Edison. You don't learn about Thomas Edison because he did the rational thing, and gave up after his third try. Thomas Edison went down in history because he did what nobody else would have done. He tried over a thousand times before he finally created a working light bulb. Edison said himself, "I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb". Then take Martin Luther King Jr. for example. You don't celebrate him because he lived life in the shadows of racism like most other people. You celebrate him because he used his voice to stand up for the things he believed in most. Because he was different from everyone around him, he helped give thousands of people rights to equality.

        Kylie there are a lot of amazing people in this world. People who have changed the course of history, or even who have simply made this world a better place for everyone around them. True greatness comes through being, you and being unique. It's like Elaine S. Dalton once said, “If you desire to make a difference in the world, you must be different than the world.”

         Hold fast to who you are, and never try to be like the rest. Work hard, stand strong, be kind, be smart, and always give your best. Dare to be different and always stand out, to yourself you must always hold. Because if you are you, and nobody else, someday you just might change the world.
                                                   Love,
                                              Aunt Nena