Dear Younger Self by Faaria Naz by Brampton Library

DEAR YOUNGER SELF FAARIA NAZ

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

DEAR YOUNGER SELF Faaria Naz

Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Free Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . Validation and Acceptance . . . . . What Are You . . . . . . . . . . . Friendship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Truths Untold . . . . . . . . . . . . Freedom of Opinion? . . . . . . . . We Are All the Same . . . . . . . . A Thousand More to Go . . . . . . Reality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Your Opinion Matters. . . . . . . . Break the Habit . . . . . . . . . . . Embrace Your Home . . . . . . . . Time to Replace the Fear . . . . . . The Power You Hold . . . . . . . . Understand Your Past . . . . . . . . Age Is Just A Number . . . . . . . Start Fresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . Break Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . What Have We Become? . . . . . . Perfection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How To Adult . . . . . . . . . . . . You Are Worthy Always . . . . . .

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Introduction When you feel like no one understands you, know that I am here. This booklet is proof that I hear you and that I know you exist. As you grow into the individual you are destined to become, realize you are more than the labels and nicknames. You are more than just expectations. Know that you are loved. Know that someone is thinking of you. Know that someone cares about you. Know that someone believes in you. Know that that person is me and that you matter. There is nothing in this world you cannot accomplish.

Faaria Naz

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

Free Yourself Clear and unscarred is how all of our skins begin. Smooth and bump-free until puberty surrounds us. For some, acne appears sooner rather than later, while the rest of us are stuck being told how our skin is so beautiful. They say try not to get carried away with candies and chocolates. You will ruin your beauty. As if is erupting and peeling back its layers. It is trying to pry and escape into this new world. Let it shed, embrace your new skin. Let it be free.

FAARIA NAZ

Validation and Acceptance We are all shades of the earth. We have become enriched with our ethnicities and cultures. From biryani to jollof rice to Kung bao chicken, the list could go on. Some of us grow up with spices, like saffron and turmeric, while others have acquired a liking to herbs. The smell of every ethnic dish intertwines with one another, creating a joyous harmony. Sometimes, we forget to listen to that unity instead of focusing on the unfamiliar smells. When in fact, that unfamiliarity to some is nostalgic to many others.

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

What Are You? You are not a child anymore, but neither are you an adult just yet. So, what are you? You are a human being treated like a child sometimes, while other times, you are treated like an adult. Your parents expect you to act mature like a grown-up, but then also disregard your opinions because, in their eyes, you are has been on your mind, but you are interrupted before your words can even make their way out. You are told that you are too young to understand. You are told to go do whatever it is that you do. So, tell me, what are you? -You are everything and anything you want to be.

FAARIA NAZ

Friendships Some friendships do not last forever. Not everyone will be a part of your life for too long, but that is okay. You’ll learn to cherish moments and the time well spent. You’ll understand the true meaning of outgrowing a person. In the beginning, it hurts, but true friends will always stick around and lift you when

choose, so choose wisely.

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

Truths Untold There will come a time when your innocence will no longer speak, and you will long for your naiveness to come back. Your eyes, ears, and mouth will be understand that this world was never what you hoped it would be. Perhaps you grew up thinking wishfully. Or perhaps, you already grew up knowing what the world would be. You already understood the world would be full of lies and the Monster under your bed or the Tooth Fairy? Perhaps they were trivial and harmless lies, but have not these same lies shaped you into who you have become? Maybe these lies are vital to aid with our imaginations, or possibly our imagination is buried alongside these lies. Either way, the truth always comes out, but so do all the lies.

FAARIA NAZ

Freedom of Opinion? Why is it that parents think no is disrespectful? That no is attitude. When in truth, no is just no. No is not yes, no is not maybe. No is an opinion. It’s as if no does not exist in their vocabulary. It’s as if you are just supposed to follow as you are told and never disobey, no matter if they are right or wrong. Why can’t no just be no? Why does no have to mean everything and anything but no?

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

We Are All the Same There is such thing as popularity, but there is no such thing as superiority. Never let yourself confuse the two. To be popular is to be well known. To feel as if you are superior to another means you have acknowledged the existence of an inferior. Once you admit this, then you’ve believed in a lie. Is there such thing as a human being superior to others? We should not strive to be well-liked or feel superior because being superior to another human merely does not exist. Once you aim to be the best version of yourself, you will understand that we are all equals.

FAARIA NAZ

A Thousand More to Go As you open yourself up to this scary and exciting world, always remember that you will live through a thousand different versions and personalities of yourself throughout life. There will not just be one of you. There will be multiple versions of you, which many will choose to remember and others will choose to forget, but it is you who will never forget the lives you have lived. Live with passion, live with elegance, live with spontaneity.

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

Reality Niave was I to fall for those fairytales, for everything fragile shatters.

FAARIA NAZ

Your Opinion Matters I don’t want to is not an excuse. I don’t want to is a valid reason. -Never let anyone tell you otherwise

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

Break the Habit Change is inevitable. Your body will change. Your mindset will change. Your surroundings will change. You are meant to constantly evolve and change. It’s okay if priorities change. It is okay if your interests change, or your mindset changes. It is okay if people don’t like your change, as long as you negative connotations. To be honest, it is only viewed as such because people realize you have stopped living life to please them and have started to live for yourself. Change is growth.

FAARIA NAZ

Embrace Your Home Your body is not something to be presented desirably. Your body is your home. It is where your soul lives. Cherish and care for your body. They will try to mold your body into a display anyone can mock, shame, or degrade. is ever-changing, like the very same earth you walk on. It is no different than that of anything else, but it is not a type.

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DEAR YOUNGER SELF

Time to Replace the Fear I love being a female, but sometimes I wish I could take a stroll alone past dusk without feeling like someone will kidnap me. -A tragic reality

FAARIA NAZ

The Power You Hold Life is not fair, and it is as simple as that. Sometimes we do not know who we are, and that is okay, but sometimes it is not because it can make us feel so is horrifying because you know nothing is wrong with you, but you still feel as if you have to change. It upsets you that you upset others, especially when it is your loved ones. You think how could I be so careless, but the truth is that you were. Mistakes exist because we are not perfect, nor will we ever be. So change because you want to, not because you feel like you have to. Change because you want to progress into a better version of yourself.

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

Understand Your Past

you be able to live life knowing you understood every decision you have made so far? Every decision is life-changing, whether you believe it or not. Every one of your decisions leads you to your next, which ultimately leads to the life you have created. Some of your decisions may bring you to a dead-end, and you will feel like there is no way out. That is when it is up to you to rationalize and analyze your past in order to discover the hidden path to your future. Your future will always be unknown, but your decisions are not because they will always shape and form your future. Change what you can, and stop worrying about the rest.

STOP 16

FAARIA NAZ

Age Is Just A Number It is okay not to want to participate in activities normalized for your age group. Your life should be lived the way you want to. It does not mean you are not mature enough, despite what anyone says. Maturity comes with wisdom, and wisdom comes with experience. Your experiences will be different from others, just like your wisdom will be as well. Maturity is realizing and understanding every situation from more than one point of view. Maturity is recognizing who you are, no matter societal pressure. Don’t restrict your happiness for others because your passion is what will make this life worthwhile.

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

Start Fresh We all need a break sometimes. Take the day off from school, or take the day off from work. Take the day off for yourself. Your body is not a machine, so please don’t treat it like one.

FAARIA NAZ

Break Free She was never a damsel in distress, but why does a princess always need saving from a prince? Why can she never save herself? Perhaps she is not the one incapable of doing so, but the world is incapable of letting her do so. Don’t let cultural restrictions tie you down. Don’t settle for anything less just because you feel like you have to. Break the cultural norm and create your standards. Or better yet, destroy all of them. Then maybe, there won’t be another generation trying to break unconventional standards. They will be allowed to live a carefree and unrestricted life, and so will you.

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

What Have We Become? for love.

FAARIA NAZ

Perfection When you are my age, mistakes are not valid anymore, no matter what the excuse. I am constantly warned that I should know better, but I am powerless when the devil sits on my shoulders, whispering into my ear. Am I not supposed to make mistakes, or was I born perfect? Was I born knowing the alphabet and all the numbers? Was I born knowing how to walk and talk, or did I stutter, stumble, and fall into this life? I was born human, but sometimes all parents want is perfect results, even though perfect does not exist. If perfect existed, then wouldn’t all parents be perfect as well?

DEAR YOUNGER SELF

How To Adult You never fully become an adult. You merely learn to balance responsibilities with your day-to-day lives. Some may mature earlier than others, but that does not necessarily make you more or less of an adult. Being an adult only means you’re legally responsible for your actions. In this world, we become adults as soon as we turn eighteen, meaning we have to pay taxes and get to vote. It is as if at eighteen, one magically has an epiphany and develops a new mindset for the adult world. The pressure of having your life planned out at eighteen is absurd, yet somehow, we are persuaded into feeling as if it is a necessary process to succeed in life. That you will fall behind if you don’t start to think wisely and act maturely. One may look, behave, and function like an adult, but just because the criteria is checked off, does not mean one is limited to that persona. An adult is someone who is genuine and learns from their mistakes. An adult is someone who thinks more of themselves than just being an adult.

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FAARIA NAZ

You Are Worthy Always I know sometimes you question what difference does it make if you leave this world behind? Let me be the one to tell you it makes all the difference. Your ambition and passion allow this world to spin on its axis. The sun is unseen some days, but it never leaves us in the dark for too long. The earth will always revolve around such a beauty, just like your presence is forever grounded and forever needed by everyone around you, including me. Stay and live, not for me, but because life has more to offer you. Trust me. -A message to anyone who needs to hear it

About the Author Faaria Naz is a Pakistani-Canadian born and raised in Brampton. She is an emerging artist who is an undergraduate majoring in Creative Writing at Ontario College of Art & Design University. Faaria is an artist of many talents, whether it be painting, drawing, writing poetry, or even baking. She hopes to pursue her passion for writing through her academic journey while engaging with her community, especially youth, who may feel undervalued during adolescence. Faaria hopes teenagers and young adults can feel a sense of validation through her work, as she believes it is crucial to address the challenges youth often encounter in their daily lives.