I have struggled believing this small phrase about myself my whole life. “You are not a talented enough dancer, you are not a good enough student, you are not a good enough friend...etc” The list goes on and on. I catch myself running these thoughts through my head like a song stuck on repeat. Over and over again. In moments that there is triumph with my academics or dance or even if I am simply hanging out with my friends, I sometimes feel like I am enough. Sometimes for a whole week, sometimes for a day, or sometimes for a fleeting second. But I struggle with believing it. I struggle believing wholeheartedly that I am enough.
A few weeks ago my friend from dance committed suicide. She was the kind of dancer that was passionate and strong and you couldn't take your eyes off of her when she danced. She was remarkably brilliant and would make you laugh until your stomach hurt. She faced a battle that I and many other people will never understand. But in the short time that she walked this earth she stayed true to who she was. She was beautiful and kind. Love and grace radiated from her and she touched more people around her than she ever will realize. Her death has cast a shadow of sorrow over myself and my dance community because she was so loved and needed by the people around her. In reminiscing her life and processing her death, I wish more than anything that she would have known, and wholeheartedly believed that she was enough.
This death is tragic and has broken my heart into a million pieces, and processing it has been next to impossible; however, through the painful grieving I have begun to remind the people in my life and myself of their importance in this world. It is ok to be sad. It is ok to be happy. It is ok to face rejection and failure. And it is ok to celebrate accomplishments. But no matter what, what you can bring on any given day, how you are feeling on any given day is enough.
Everyday remind yourself, remind your friends, remind your family, remind your acquaintances of this phrase. Show love to the people around you and to yourself through all of the struggles, insecurities, imperfections, accomplishments and triumphs. Because you need your tribe, and your tribe needs you...no matter what.
So, please know that you are enough. Even when it doesn’t feel like it, you are. Your grace and beauty blesses the lives of the people around you more than you know. Life will throw rejection at you, people will be mean, and it may not feel like you can do it. But you can. I have realized that with my insecurities and with my faults I am enough. I am me. And being me is enough. Enough to make a difference, enough to accomplish my dreams, and enough to impact the lives around me. Every day I am working on believing that with my whole heart, and it is not easy. But even when it feels like the weight of the world is on your shoulders remind yourself that you are enough. The world needs your talents, the world needs your empathy, the world needs your imperfections. The world needs you. Your authentic self is enough. You are loved, you are needed, and you are enough.