Dear Barbie,

While scrolling through my newsfeed it was brought to my attention that you've recently undergone some major changes. You are no longer just a slim, blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty. You're finally tall, petite, curvy, black, brown, asian, and white. You're finally rocking beautiful dark curls and equally beautiful dark skin. You finally look like me.

As a kid I idolised you. You were the standard of beauty I had always hoped to achieve. Maybe I didn't realise it being so young, but looking back I so distinctly remember wanting to have long blonde hair just like yours. I would dream of what I would look like with blue eyes just like yours. I just wanted to be beautiful just like you. I can hear you telling me that it's silly to want to aspire to be you, but when you're young and mostly being told that Barbie is the most beautiful woman in the world, it's hard not to want that too. People used to and still pay hundreds and thousands of dollars just to have the most beautiful Barbie in the world.

But those are the old days aren't they? Now everyone is beautiful! You're showing us just how beautiful diversity is and I couldn't have asked for a better first step. It brings happy tears to my eyes to know that there is now a Barbie out there in the world that looks like me, my friends, my family, and every other little girl out there. If nothing else, tonight you've made the little girl inside me get excited about the prospects of meeting you again in your many new forms.

You've also made the big girl inside me finally feel beautiful - and for that I am eternally grateful.

Your friend always,
Soph