You can't choose your family...

My niece, who is stunningly beautiful and wise beyond her years, posted the following today:

I'm never going to be perfect, and it's high time I stopped trying.

I will never, ever, EVER be the kid who can get called on in math class and answer the questions perfectly. I probably won't answer the question at all, actually,

I won't always look perfect. Hell, half the time, I probably won't even look good.

I will never be a size zero. (Thank god, if my hips were that small I would have no figure.)

I will always have a bit of extra weight on me.

I will always be less pretty than some girls. Than most girls, arguably.

I'm never going to be one of those girls who looks pretty when she cries.

I'm never going to be one of those girls who can arrive at school with her hair one way, in perfect order and never have to glance in a mirror to know it looks good.

I'm never going to be one of those girls that have boys after her.

I'm never going to be one of those girls who have the courage to say what they're thinking all the time, because I don't have the confidence to back up my courage. I'm too afraid of my peers, and I'm too afraid of being judged.

However...

I will always be one of those girls that can never stop dreaming and imagining.

I will always be one of those girls who will give you the answers to the English homework... Because I've had it done since the day it was assigned.

I will always be strong.

I will never, (ahem, from this day forth) let people get in the way of how I feel about myself.

Okay, never is a bit much. I will TRY not to ever let people get in the way of how I feel about myself.

I'm going to be one of those people that feels awkward in most situations. (At least until I pass through these silly teen years...) I feel awkward in my body. I feel awkward with my personality.

But, in being so awkward, I'm learning.

I will never stop learning.

I will always love and cherish the Harry Potter series. (This is a vow.)

I'm going to be one of those girls who loves things to an obsessive extent.

I will always love music that helps me.

Books will be my life.

I am always going to love my friends in a completely familial way, to the point where they're more like my relatives than my relatives are.

I will never stop being grateful for the people in my life.

I will always end up making my inspirational speeches and revelations sound corny.

My lists about myself and my life will almost always be disorganized, confusing and slightly out of order.

Always.

This kid? She has had a hard fucking life. She has had a mother who doesn't deserve her. She is an amazing, beautiful teenager who gets life more than I think I ever will.

She is contemplating coming to Ohio for college next year. I have offered my spare bedroom to her, until she finds her way and finds someplace she belongs. I hope she takes me up on it, because I barely know her.

Sometimes teenagers, just wow. Sometimes they blow your mind.