Oh, teenage me. It really feels like I was in your shoes a long time ago. It's been almost four years since I could add "teen" to the end of my age, after all. I feel that I'm far enough away now that I can look back and tell you all the things you needed to hear and maybe didn't. I'd like to think I was cheering you on from the future. Either way, you've learned a lot, and you're in a better situation now than you were then. Progress! But I still feel there are some things you should hear.

Teenage me, you were so naïve. You fought so hard against that label of youth, and you thought it was enough to be intelligent. Well, kiddo, your brain is an awesome thing, but it just didn't stand up to the emotional roller coaster of high school and boyfriends and life. You were ill prepared. But you didn't fail. I think it's really important for you to know that even when you made really big mistakes, trusted people you shouldn't have, and hurt people in ways you can never take back, you were still learning. And after all this time, I can tell you that those mistakes were worth the lessons you've learned.

I want you to know that you are beautiful, in every form you've ever had. While I don't necessarily agree with some of your hairstyle choices, you had guts. That beauty that you've always had deep inside you was what mattered most then, too. It doesn't matter that those blunt bangs made you look like a five-year-old, and it doesn't matter that your orange homecoming dress did not match your skin tone, and it's OK that your foundation on the night of your junior prom was a little on the Oompa Loompa side. Those things were all temporary, and you found yourself in all that trial and error. That's real beauty.

I wish you had focused more on your best friends and less on boys. Hindsight is 20/20, darling. You were absolutely boy crazy, and I'd dare to say that you still are. The difference is you're crazy about only one boy now. But in high school, you were so ready to grow up, and to have adult relationships that you forgot you were a young girl. You forgot to have fun. You took your life so seriously. That's not all bad -- you got good grades and didn't royally screw up your life. But I wish sometimes that you had let yourself be a little more adventurous and gone on more dates with your girlfriends rather than worrying about boys. (Huge props, though, for going with your best friend to junior prom when you were both in between relationships. That is true friendship.)

Your life will be really awesome in a few years. I know you struggle with some depression, and definitely with anxiety. When you're in high school, it feels like the whole world is a huge weight on your back. The unknown is so scary, but you don't need to be scared. You've got this. I'll be waiting for you while you figure it out.

Peace and love,

Adult Me