“It took many years of vomiting up all the filth I’d been taught about myself, and half-believed before I was able to walk on the earth as though I had a right to be here.” – James Baldwin

Read the first letter here

Now you’re grown, far from the early days when you wondered if you had a right to be here. The days when you wanted to crawl out from your skin and fit right with the others. You are more confident in who you are, and your years of being an “outcast” have given you a unique view of the world that one can only get when they’ve experienced been left aside alone. You have grown into a stronger being. Congrats, but the journey is far from over.

Every day, you will be spoon-fed by the world what they think is right for you. Accept what affirms you and humanity as a whole, reject anything that insults your soul and devalues your existence. You must wash off the lies and misconceptions you encounter on a regular because your personal evolution does not mean that the world has evolved too.  The ghosts of insecurities from years past will always try to come back. Acknowledge them, let them know you’ve moved on, and even if they try to cling to you, you must not let them stop you in your evolution to being part of the new sincere.

Your work must not end with you. Like a lighthouse by the sea, you should guide and be a source of solace to those behind you who are going through the same challenges you experienced in your younger days. Accept that to some people, you will always just simply be the ‘weirdo,” don’t take it personally. Some people’s brains can’t grasp seeing others beyond labels and that’s their cross to carry not yours. Own your eccentricity. In your journey, one day, you’ll grasp the extraordinary beauty of this gift.

Ifeanyi Ogbo