Nine things I would like to tell every teenage girl:
One: The world is trying to kill you. It is trying to do this by stealing your voice. Kill it back.
Two: You, are the best thing in every room. You will notice I did not say the prettiest. You are also the prettiest thing in every room, but that does not matter. That is the world trying to kill you.
Three: You will never completely kill the idea that your body is the most important thing about you. That is everywhere. And if you are alive and hearing these me say these words right now The you have already heard it too many times.
That said;
Four: The best hairstyle is the one that gets you out of bed in the morning. The best brand of makeup is the one that sharpens the knife for you. The best brand of denim is the one that fits and goes with your combat boots. Note; high heels make perfectly acceptable combat boots. Converse make perfectly acceptable combat boots. And yes, combat boots make superlative combat boots.
Five: Wear whatever you want. Look however you want. You know who can piss off if they do not like it? EVERYONE!
Six: Remember that metaphor about killing you being stealing your voice? Sometimes... the world will actually try to kill you. You will never deserve it. Telling you to be ready is pointless. Telling you to prepare yourself, is just another way to blame you for what happens.
Which is why;
Seven: You need to hold up your sisters.
Eight: Everyone is your sister. The girl with the jacked-up teeth and thrift store jeans is your sister. The girl who likes girls is your sister. The girl who used to be called Jake but is now called Jane is your sister. The cheerleaders who are trying so hard to kill you are still your sisters. The world is trying to kill each and everyone of you. And if you do not hold up each other, no one else will.
Nine: Someday, someone is going to call you a woman. It is going to be the most terrifying thing to think about yourself. But recognize it for the medal of honor that it is. It means that you have survived. That everything that has tried to kill you has failed.
I am so sorry. I should have called you all women at the beginning of this poem.