Read Solange’s Inspirational Letter To Her Teenage Self For Teen Vogue

For her cover story in Teen Vogue's new Music Issue, Solange penned an uplifting letter to her teenage self. "there will be fear. a lot of it. there will be triumph. a lot of it," she begins. The letter is introduced with a foreword by Thelma Golden, the director and chief curator at the Studio Museum in Harlem, and finds Solange reflecting on her struggles and triumphs.

"You realize watching a woman balance being a supportive mother, building a successful business from the ground up that was started in her garage, and giving back to the community will make you feel invincible and like the word “no” is just an echo in the universe that you'll never know," Solange writes. "Roll your eyes and your neck less. it’s not as cute as you think. tell her you appreciate all that she does, for she makes the impossible look effortless. she surrounds you with other black women who do the same. you study them, and will constantly think of all their stories, their beauty, their strife and their stride. they break down all of the archetypes and stereotypes that you see of black women on tv and in magazines."

In her letter, Solange also reflects on the death of her best friend and the birth of her son Daniel: "Seventeen will be the hardest year of your life. it will grow you up almost immediately. you will lose your best friend whom you love so much to gun violence in a single moment, and give birth to a new one within a year."

Read Solange's letter to her teenage self here.