Joanna Gaines wishes she could tell her younger self she's 'good enough' and 'extraordinary'
As Joanna Gaines celebrates the release of her second children’s book, the Fixer Upper star is reflecting on her childhood. In a candid post on Instagram, Gaines shared how she wishes she could go back in time and tell her younger self she’s “extraordinary.”
“The older I get, the more I realize how much time I spent believing the lie that who I was wasn’t good enough,” Gaines, 42, wrote alongside a childhood photo. “I find myself fighting to get all of that time back — all of the moments I wasted hiding who I was by trying to be something I wasn’t.”
The mother of five continued, “So as I sit here now, with years of living and learning behind me, I want so badly to go back in time to that little girl — a little girl who happens to be half Korean and shy and a little bit self-conscious — to tell her that not only is she good enough, but she is extraordinary. I want to go back and tell her to be kind to herself because the world needs exactly who she was made to be.”
The New York Times bestselling author concluded with a message to her followers.
“And believe me when I say that the same is true for you. I hope you find the courage to embrace all that you are — all of your quirks, all of your beauty, all of your brilliance — because the world needs YOU,” she added.
A post shared by Joanna Stevens Gaines (@joannagaines) on
Gaines’s new book The World Needs Who You Were Made To Be aims to show the beauty of celebrating our differences and taking care of one another. In a press release, she explained that while she’s proud of her “beautiful” Korean heritage, she didn’t feel that way growing up.
“My mom is full Korean and my dad is Caucasian. Kids in kindergarten would make fun of me for being Asian, and when you’re that age you don’t know really how to process that; the way you take that is, ‘Who I am isn’t good enough,’” the 42-year-old shared. “Fast forward to today and my Korean heritage is one of the things I’m most proud of. I’m trying to make up for that lost time – the culture is just so beautiful. I think discovering who you are and what you were made to do is a lifelong journey.”
Gaines noted that “discovering who you are and what you were made to do is a lifelong journey.”
“It seems to be a question we all find ourselves asking in different seasons of our lives, and for many of us, it starts when we are kids,” she continued. “I also think that because it can feel like a daunting question, for some it seems too intimidating to try to answer. But the beauty there is that we’re all on this great adventure together.”
Gaines added, “We’re all in process, trying to work it out, each of us bringing our own stories and strengths and personalities to the table. And though it is imperfect and always evolving, I’ve come to realize it’s more beautiful this way. The world is better off when we all lean into who we truly are and fight to uphold the unique goodness in all of us.”
The World Needs Who You Were Made To Be is out now.
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