16 years old.

This girl, at 16, is sweet, beautiful, and talented.
She knows what she likes, and she knows what she doesn’t like.
She is easily inspired, easily encouraged, and eagerly hopeful.
She is wonderfully naive as only a child can be.
She’s able to see this world more clearly than I ever could.
Her thoughts are more mature and genuine than mine ever will be.

I told her, “You have a bright future. Explore and you WILL find something amazing.”

She replied, “I’m not so young any more. I don’t have the time to explore.  By now, I should just focus on one thing and develop my skills in that ONE thing.  Besides, I can’t chase after something that’s unreal…”

I heart sank right about then.
She is SO young.
She is younger than she thinks, more talented than she knows, and have more opportunities than she thinks are out there.
She is so young.

I can’t remember if that’s how I felt when I was 16.
I think I did.
I think, I thought, my time was running out.

Here I am, nearly 10 years later, saying the exact thing to myself over and over again.

I better start believing.
That we are young;
That we are braver than we believe, stronger than we see, and smarter than we think.

So, I can do this.

I will explore and I will find something amazing.

Because I’m young.