Newmar's Letter to a Teenager

[Guest guest]

(a few months ago, Newmar (aka " Catwoman) was diagnosed with

CMT. I found this Letter to a Teenager on her website and thought it

was such good advice, and may help teens with CMT)

http://www.julienewmarwrites.com/story.php?idStory=76

Letter to a Teenager 9-08

Some of the greatest mistakes in life are made in the teenage years

including irreversible changes to the body...

Some of the greatest mistakes in life are made in the teenage years

including irreversible changes to the body. They come from fear,

fear of being not enough, or too much. Too much body weight, too

big a nose, not enough height, etc. These fears create damage to the

face or body which can be carried for the rest of one's life. Think

again. Better yet, think beyond the inevitable comparisons children

make that so often do harm to themselves and others. They don't mean

to.

When you were in the first grade, you learned about opposites: short-

tall, fat-skinny, etc. These words of comparison later hurt when

describing another, e.g. " Sherry is short. Josh is fat. " They were

not meant to hurt but to differentiate. How brilliant in nature that

we are not all exactly the same. How exceedingly boring that would

be. Think of your ability to recognize your friend's voice on the

phone. Think of a mother penguin's ability to distinguish her baby

penguin's " squawk, squawk " among the thousands of baby penguins as

she returns from searching for food to keep her baby alive. You are

just different enough to fit perfectly on this planet. YOU ARE

ENOUGH.

These three words must become your mantra for the rest of your life

until you have all the information you need to make those important

decisions. Knowledge is power and smart people make fewer mistakes.

A friend of mine has a very cute nose but it does not fit her face.

Her face is stronger and bolder than this new nose. Had she waited

past the age of nineteen when her nose was fixed, and had she looked

for a better doctor or had visually assimilated all aspects of her

face and also armed herself with knowledge that she was not her nose,

the fear she had as a teenager would not have become a permanent mark

to distort her image.

Big lesson: " I AM ENOUGH. " Repeat these three words over and over

to yourself when anyone or any situation has put you in a state of

fear. Don't destroy anything about yourself or another while you are

feeling insecure. Say to yourself, " I am not afraid. " Most fear

situations are pure nonsense anyway. Move your mental attention to

safer ground. Do not hang there. Four big " no-no's " :

1. Do NOT commit murder

2. Do NOT commit suicide

3. Do NOT commit incest

4. Do NOT be afraid