Writing a letter to your younger self

Find a quiet moment, a pen, and a piece of paper. Picture yourself at an age when something hard happened — maybe seven, maybe twelve. See her face. Notice what she's wearing. Notice what she needs.

Now write to her from where you stand today. Tell her what you see in her that the adults around her missed. Tell her she is not too much, not too sensitive, not too quiet.

Promise her something small and keep it. A walk in the sun. Ten minutes of music. A meal eaten slowly. The inner child believes action, not words.

Read the letter back, slowly, as if she is sitting next to you — because in a very real sense, she is. This is the beginning of reparenting: showing up for the parts of yourself that were left waiting.

Repeat this practice whenever you feel disproportionately reactive, lonely, or small. Over time the inner child learns that someone has finally come for her. That someone is you.