Not Perfect But...

You could be her, little one.

The girl with the perfect hair, who can drink coffee and not spill a single drop on her white dress, wear 6-inch stilettos and not trip, and put on makeup like a pro; you may not be her. 

The girl with the perfect smile, who can write poems that make even the most unromantic swoon, hit the notes to a Whitney Houston song with the acuracy of Whitney herself, and dance like Beyonce; you may not be her. 

The girl with the perfect personality, who says all the right words at the right time, cracks jokes that everybody finds funny, and is the life of any party; you may not be her. 

The girl with the perfect attitude, who is never affected by the hurtful words of people who could care less about the feelings of others, is never peeved by inconsiderate commuters on the subway, and is never annoyed at reckless drivers on the highway; you may not be her. 

But...

The girl with puffy eyes in the morning because she spent the night crying with the characters in a book, or with a friend whose dog passed away, or after she hears an emotional recount of a man's journey to finding God? You could be her.

The girl with tales of childhood memories that made her stronger, of storms that almost drowned her but didn't, and of slammed doors that she refused to give up on? You could be her. 

The girl with an endless string of questions that have no answers but asks them anyway, thoughts about making the world better that seem impossible but thinks of them anyway, and ideas people would laugh at but considers them anyway? You could be her. 

The girl who does not stop dreaming despite the many unfulfilled ones she already has, hoping despite not knowing what lies ahead, and believing despite the worldly opinion that doing so is folly? You could be her. 

Yes...

You could be the girl who bottles her tears and pockets the laughter of everyone around her in equal measure; the one who listens in rapt attention to the stories of her friends from the mundane to the fantastical as though they were acts on a Broadway play; the one who collects moments and memories the way another would collect stamps, coins, and fridge magnets. 

No...

You may not have perfection in your future, not even close. You could be clumsy, uncoordinated, and laugh at the corniest jokes. You could be eccentric, pensive, and only have a handful of close friends. You'd probably not have private jets or villas to your name, no claim to fame, and no books may be written about you. 

But...

You would cry with an overwhelmed mom whose girl has a seizure disorder. You would lose sleep praying for a co-worker who lost her dad. You would skip work to climb mountains with a friend because you don't want her to be alone on her birthday. You would be passionate about what you do, who you love, and how you live. You would believe that every man, woman, and child is beautiful, every soul deserves love, and each person has value.

You may not be perfect but you will be more than enough, little girl.