+
More

Grab a tissue, then read the 'You are enough' letters a mom and daughter wrote each other.

If you're a mom with a daughter, these video letters will hit you right in the feels.

I have two teen girls, so I've seen my fair share of sweet mother-daughter moments. But this pair of videos produced by Deva Dalporto of the MyLifeSuckers touch on a topic we can all relate to, and convey a message we all need to hear: You are enough, just as you are.

Dalporto says the videos were adapted from letters she and her daughter wrote to one another for "You Do You," an anthology about raising girls by Jen Mann.


Dalporto told Upworthy how the letters came about:

"As a mother, it's really hard to watch your child grow up and start to become self-conscious and doubt themselves. I always tell my daughter not to rip herself down. That she needs to be her own biggest fan. Then one day she turned to me and said, 'You do it too, mommy.' I was taken aback and then realized she's so right! I criticize my post-kids body. I'm hard on myself. I put myself down. And those are NOT things I want to model to my children. So we decided to write one another letters saying what we truly feel — that we are both enough, just as we are."

The 12-year-old's letter to her mom is a balm to every mom's weary and worried soul.

It's so hard not to be hard on yourself as a mother. We have so many ideals and expectations we strive to live up to, and sometimes it feels like we fail on that front more than we succeed.

Sometimes all we need to hear is that no matter what kinds of doubts and criticisms we have of ourselves, we are just the mom our kids need.

Dear Mom, You Are Enough

❤️Dear Mom, You Are Enough ❤️My daughter wrote this for me, but EVERY MOM needs to hear it. It's an excerpt from her essay in an anthology called "You Do You." You can buy the book here ▶︎ http://mylifesuckers.com/YouDoYou Watch my response!▶︎ https://www.facebook.com/MyLifeSuckers/videos/163466744588016/

Posted by MyLifeSuckers on Sunday, October 14, 2018

Dalporto's daughter wrote, "You don't have to be the perfect mom. You don't have to be stronger or softer or kinder or craftier or make more organic meals . . . You think everything you do for us has to be a masterpiece. But that's not true. If everything was perfect nothing would be special."

She pointed out that she sees her mother being critical of herself, but that she doesn't need to be:

"I see you beat yourself up whenever you raise your voice. I see you disappointed when you don't have everything under control . . . I see you calling yourself out of shape and criticizing your body. But your 'muffin top' just shows that you created two children. And that's pretty cool. I see you saying you're getting old and staring at your wrinkles in the mirror. And that's true. Everyone is getting older. But the older you get, the wiser you are and the more beautiful you become."

She ended the video with a simple truth: "YOU ARE ENOUGH. Just as you are."

Well, dang. I think there's something in my eye.

Dalporto's video for her daughter is equally moving, and something all young women need to hear.

If that video doesn't get you teary, this one might. Dalporto's letter to her daughter echoed her daughter's letter to her, but specific to a growing girl's concerns.

"Dear Daughter, You are enough. Just as you are," it begins. "You don't have to be prettier or faster or smarter or sparklier or cooler or quieter or stronger or anything other than what you are. Because you are enough."

Such a simple statement, but so hard for so many young people to believe.

Dear Daughter, You Are Enough

This is a letter I wrote to my daughter telling her that she is enough, just as she is. It is a letter for all daughters. For all girls. For all women. I want you to know ♡ YOU ARE ENOUGH. ♡ The words are an excerpt from an essay I wrote in a new anthology called "You Do You." To get a copy of the book -> http://mylifesuckers.com/YouDoYou Watch her letter to me -> https://www.facebook.com/MyLifeSuckers/videos/2140312122891054/

Posted by

MyLifeSuckers on Sunday, October 7, 2018

Dalporto pointed out that she sees her daughter being critical of herself, but that she shouldn't be:

"I see you comparing yourself. To me. To your friends. To your brother. To random people you'll never know. I see you putting yourself down. Telling yourself you aren't good enough. Staring at your reflection in the mirror with critical eyes. I see you expecting yourself to be perfect. And I want to scream, DO NOT DO THIS TO YOURSELF. There will be so many people in this life that will try to rip you down. DO NOT DO IT TO YOURSELF. You don't have to be perfect to be enough."

She encouraged her daughter to be accepting of herself, of her flaws and strengths, and to "Be as strong and brave and loud as you really are."

Dalporto ended her video with the same message she received from her daughter: "YOU ARE ENOUGH. Just as you are."

(Be right back. Grabbing a tissue.)

The videos struck a chord because women receive so many messages from society that we are not enough.

We are bombarded by messages from advertisements to Instagram that tells us we always need to be more—more organized, more well-read, more fashionable, more involved, more patient, more ambitious. In a million ways, we are told that we need to skinnier, taller, smarter, prettier, louder, quieter, rounder, fitter—always something-er.

So Dalporto and her daughter's letters to one another are a breath of fresh air. "We don't have to be perfect," says Dalporto. "I can have a muffin top and still be enough. She can place second in a race and still be enough."

Thanks for the reminder that we are all enough. Just as we are.

A Korean mother and her son

A recently posted story on Reddit shows a mother confidently standing up for her family after being bullied by a teacher for her culture. Reddit user Flowergardens0 posted the story to the AITA forum, where people ask whether they are wrong in a specific situation.

Over 5,600 people commented on the story, and an overwhelming majority thought the mother was right. Here’s what went down:

“I (34F) have a (5M) son who attends preschool. A few hours after I picked him up from school today, I got a phone call from his teacher,” Flowergardens0 wrote. “She made absolutely no effort to sound kind when she, in an extremely rude and annoyed tone, told me to stop packing my son such ‘disgusting and inappropriate’ lunches."

Keep ReadingShow less

It's incredible what a double-sided magnet can do.


A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.


Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

Woman was mocked online for calling an $80 purse a 'luxury item.' Her response went viral.

"I'm so grateful that my dad was able to get me one. He worked so hard for that money.”

@zohtaco/TikTok

Zoe Gabriel, showing off her new purse from Charles & Keith

Insults of any kind are painful, but jabs towards someone’s financial status are their own breed.

In January 2023, Singapore-based Zoe Gabriel was on the receiving end of this particular flavor of mockery when she posted a TikTok about a purse from local retail brand Charles & Keith—a gift bought for her by her father.

In her excitement, the 17-year-old called the bag, which costs around $80, a “luxury” item as she unwrapped it. Her excitement was sadly cut short by some of the negative comments she received.

One comment seemed to stand out above the rest and prompted Gabriel to post an emotional response video.

Keep ReadingShow less

Ring doorbell video captures what it's like to be the default parent.

Kids, man. I'm not sure of the scientific way audacity is distributed, but kids have a lot of it and somehow make it cute. That audacity overload is especially interesting when you're the default parent—you know, the parent kids go to for literally everything as if there's not another fully capable adult in the house. Chances are if your children haven't sought you out while you were taking a shower so you could open up a pack of fruit snacks, then you're not the default parental unit.

One parent captured exactly what it's like to be the default parent and shared it to TikTok, where the video has over 4 million views. Toniann Marchese went on a quick grocery run and *gasp* did not inform her children. Don't you fret, they're modern kids who know how to use modern means to get much-needed answers when mom is nowhere to be found. They went outside and rang the doorbell.

Back when we were children, this would've done nothing but make the dogs bark, but for Marchese's kids, who are 3 and 6 years old, it's as good as a phone call.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pop Culture

'American Idol' contestant has perfect response to Katy Perry's 'mom-shaming' joke

The 25-year-old used the moment to stand up for moms everywhere.

@sarabethliebe/TikTok

"Keep loving your babies."

You might recall us singing the praises of Sara Beth, the exuberant young mom with major vocal chops dubbed the “Accidental American Idol.”

During Sara Beth’s initial audition for the show, judge Katy Perry made a joke that rubbed many viewers the wrong way.

Before Sara Beth even began to sing, the 25-year-old revealed that she had three children, which prompted Katy Perry to dramatically stand up from her seat and feign shock. When Sara Beth, all smiles, said, “If Katy lays on the table, I think I’m going to pass out,” Perry retorted, “Honey, you’ve been laying on the table too much.”

Keep ReadingShow less

YouTube creator Steve Mould shows us what echo looks like through an acoustic camera.

It’s bizarre to think about seeing sound, but nowadays we can do just that. If you haven’t seen an acoustic camera before, that’s because they’re mainly used for industrial purposes, but they’ve been available commercially from gfai tech since 2001.

YouTuber Steve Mould, who has a science channel with over 2.1 million subscribers, took the complicated concept of the acoustic camera and made it easy to understand in his latest video, “Acoustic cameras can SEE sound.”

In the video, Mould explains how an acoustic camera is much like your smartphone's video recorder. But it also creates visual representations of sound emanating from where it’s generated within the video.

Keep ReadingShow less