Dear Me,
I think I should first congratulate you on making it to 19 years old. You survived your first year of adulthood, which is pretty incredible. I'm not exactly sure how you did it since you can barely do your own laundry, have to Google "how to change a printer cartridge for an HP 4500," and burn a lot of microwaveable popcorn bags, but nonetheless, here we are. I'm very proud of you.
Eighteen saw a lot of ups and downs, and maybe more downs than you wanted. It was a tough year, with college applications and trying to survive senior year. You came into conflict with your close friends as you realized that the person you were becoming and the people they were becoming no longer "clicked." It made everything really lonely, and really strange.
But it got better. It always does. And if there's one thing you should take away from this letter, it's that everything was for the best -- even though it never seemed that way.
You decided to attend college at a really awesome university, and you met a lot of new people who have become your new family away from home. You've only known these people for nine weeks (isn't it crazy that you've been in college for over two months now?) but you're closer to some of them than you ever were with your "besties" from high school. They've helped make everything a nice transition, because they're trying to figure out how to be independent and what this crazy thing called life is, just like you are. And it's a fun, complicated, crazy, adventurous journey. So hang on.
I know you never thought that you'd be in this position at 19. You dreamed about a lot of different scenarios, but you never thought your life would turn out like this. But here we are. And you should know that even though 18 is difficult, and you're not sure what's going on, and you don't know what you want to do or be, everything does work out. And I'm not just saying that. I mean, could I actually lie to you?
Nineteen looks like it's going to be an awesome year. You're surrounded by a lot of people who care about you. You finally get a chance to be independent and control your life. You're studying a subject that you love and want to pursue as a career. (And it's your final year of being a teenager!) So, buckle up, because 19's going to be one heck of a ride.
Sincerely,
Me
