InsaneJournal

[Filtered; all the women on the island]
I grew up thinking the two things women did that made people happy were to be mothers, or to be beautiful. And I am neither of those things the older I get. Though a wise woman once said to me that women were people too, and that wasn't how women made other women happy.

And I think in your age it's better to start thinking of things like that now, and appreciating yourself so you can when you're older.

Start thinking what you think about yourself and where your value comes from, instead of where other people tell you it does. It's so easy to rely on everyone thinking about and talking about how pretty you are until you come to rely on it. Then eventually it fades, and their opinions will fade and I don't want any of you to reach 45 and think of yourselves as failures because you're old, not pretty, or don't have children.

You have inherent value.