Dear.... A Letter to a Character: Elisa

I've wanted to do this for some time so I'm starting now. Occasionally a character really gets to me. Really touches me, changes the way I think. And when that happens, I want to write a letter to them, telling them how they helped me. So I'm starting with Elisa from The Girl of Fire and Thorns. I loved this book series and Elisa really spoke to me as a character.

Dear Elisa, 

I wanted to write you a letter to tell you just how much your journey meant to me. You started off as such an insecure girl. I related a lot to you. As a young woman living in a society obsessed with being skinny, I could feel a lot of your pain. I'm not fat by any stretch of the imagination, but I have many days where I look in the mirror and hate what I see. Because I don't see the stick-thin model body I'm "supposed" to have. I like food. I like to eat. A lot. And I'm not like all those other girls who eat a diet of entirely lettuce. I just can't do that. Reading that you also love to eat, I instantly felt a connection to you. 

The more I read of your story and the further along you came, the further along I came. I began to realize that it's not about what you look like to anyone else, it's about what you look like to yourself. I learned from you that I have to be the one to accept the way I look. I have to be the one to think I'm beautiful. It doesn't matter how many other people say it if I myself don't believe it. 

You also helped me realize that it's not all about looks. Your strengths can come from so many other places. Elisa, you are such a fantastic queen and leader. You risk your life for your people and will do anything for your country. Even when half the people in the country talk about you behind your back or whispered about you when you first came to their land. 

How do you do it? How do you fight for the very people that tore you down? I wish I had that kind of strength. When I was nearing the end of The Bitter Kingdom you said something that stuck with me. You said, "I'm beautiful to the one person who matters." You were talking about yourself. I cried when I read that line. I cried for you because you had come so far, but I also cried for myself. Because in that moment I realized that I am beautiful in my own way. Do I look like a Victoria's Secret model? No. Will I ever? Probably not. But that's okay. Because I'm me. From now on, the only person's opinion who matters is my own. When I look in the mirror, I want to like what I see. You helped me reach these conclusions, Elisa. You showed me that it's okay not to be perfect, that your imperfections are what make you beautiful. 

Thank you, Elisa. Thank you for showing me that I am beautiful, no matter what anybody else says. 

Your friend, 

Rebecca

Are there any characters that have really affected you? Let me know who they are and why they helped you in the comments below!