/Ida Mae Astute(ATLANTA) — After recently celebrating his 50th birthday, Tyler Perry has been taking the time to reflect, not only on his life, but on who he was as a boy.

In an Instagram post on Thursday, Perry wrote a open letter to his five-year-old self, where he thanks him for laying the foundation for who he is today.

“Dear 5 year old me,” Perry begins. “May I just say, ‘Thank you’ to the little boy that I was. Thank you for all you went through to allow me to be the man I am today. I love you, and I am so thankful to God that you survived.”

He continued, “Even when I didn’t want to, your pureness and innocence ushered me here. Thank you for these 50 years. I love you. We made it.”

Perry then poses the question to others: “What would you say to your younger self?”

“This is just one paragraph of many pages that I’ve written to my younger self over the years,” he reveals. “I often tell friends to write a letter to their younger self. I promise you, it will change your life.”

Perry says the process of writing to your younger self “can be so healing.”

Meanwhile, as Perry celebrates what he calls “a very young 50,” the director-producer and studio owner is also celebrating the launch of BET’s new streaming service, BET+, which will house many of his new projects.

“Well this is finally a dream come true,” he wrote on Instagram, sharing a hilarious promo in which he explains BET+ to his Madea character.

“I’ve partnered with @BET to launch @BETplus. It’s easy to operate just like Netflix,” he added. “And we have tons of content. I’m working on new shows and movies for it right now. Get @BETplus. You’re gonna love it!”

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