When I was in elementary school, she told me I was fat. When I was in middle school, she told me I wasn’t smart. When I was in high school, she told me there was only one thing I was good at, and that was being onstage, pretending to be someone else. She’s cruel. She’s been with me so long; I didn’t acknowledge her until two years ago when I was filling in for a high school teacher. I had asked the students to write a letter to their younger selves. It turned out to be an enlightening lesson not only for the students but for me. When I read…