Hey Elisa, it's me, just a few years older and just a bit wiser.

I've finally found peace within myself and I'm rather happy with who I've become. But it wasn't easy, and you don't know how much you have to go through before you get to where I am today. You're thinking about growing up, and how amazing it's going to be when you're on your own and living a life you've always dreamed of, but you have much to learn before then.

There's a lot of obstacles you're going to overcome. You'll face adversity and learn that as long as you push yourself, you'll always be better than you were before. You're going to fall in love, get hurt, and think that you can never love again. But you will, and it's amazing. You just have to wait for Prince Charming to finally work a shift with you at the restaurant, and trust me, it's well worth the wait.

People are going to step on your toes, a lot, and it isn't because we didn't hit a growth spurt. You're going to learn to stand up for yourself and put your foot down, and when you do, people will start respecting you. It's going to take practice. You're so used to giving and putting others first, but when you realize that enough is enough, you'll become selfish -in a good way- and put yourself first. No one will walk all over you or take advantage of your kindness. At first, it will seem mean of you, almost too unfair to others, but it's going to help build your character and strength.

Scary things are going to happen too. I wish I could have avoided them or tell you how to stay safe, but it's something that we can't run from. When it happens, you'll cry and scream and feel like the world is coming to an end, and want to rid yourself of all the pain, but I promise you, we make it through all of this. It isn't the end- merely the end of a bad chapter in our book.

You'll form new friendships with people from work, and they'll love you after only knowing you for a few months. It sounds strange, but these people will become like family to you, and you'll be lucky to have them by your side.

You'll cut ties with everyone from back home. When you come home from college for the holidays, it will seem like you have no one other than family to visit. That's okay. Not everyone deserves your love and friendship. That's something you will learn later on.

School will only get harder. High school is a joke compared to college. Stay focused and stay on track with your studies. It will pay off in the end. Don't slack and make sure you dedicate more time to school than you dedicate to being lazy.

You're going to do some stupid shit when you get older. I'm sorry, but that's just how we are. The repercussions are going to suck, and you'll feel that pain in your chest when you get into trouble, but it's a part of learning. Once you learn wrong from right, and morally wrong from right, things will get easier, and your stupid decisions will be less frequent. It takes a couple of tries before you get the hang of it, but you'll pull through.

Growing up will be challenging. You'll laugh a lot, cry even more, and complain about almost everything. You're not alone. Not ever. Your family will stand by you and support you and tell you when you're wrong, but they will always love you. When you grow up and look back at everything you've lived and experienced, you'll realize that every single event has shaped you into who we are today.

It's all going to be worth it, Elisa. You just have to wait to grow up and see what I mean.