So, I've been seeing a lot of these "Letter to my High School Self" and "What I Wish I Knew Back Then" articles circulating across the internet. I've read a couple of them and they all seem to be pretty much the same concept. Young person has a difficult time and goes through some awkward years and their "older and wiser" self reassures them that it's going to be a-okay and the future is bright. I thought about how if I decided to write one, it wouldn't be anything like that at all, which is kind of what made me decide to just go for it.

My high school self was not some sad child who let words, peer pressure and quite honestly, some of the crappiest/pointless years of her life get to her. She might not have thought so at the time, but she was one of the strongest people around who never backed down and always was herself 100%. I am pretty proud to have been her and wouldn't have done a thing differently.

Dear Trashley,

OK, other than your god-awful choice MySpace name and your choice in a haircut and wearing pounds of eyeliner underneath your eyes, I won't say anything too negative about you. Actually, it's all very positive.

It's no secret that you are probably having an absolute nightmare of a time in high school. It's boring, it's a pure waste of time and you're surrounded by some of the most judgmental and obnoxious people around. But don't fret. it will come to an end one day and when it does, you'll be glad you sat through it all.

You are great about not letting anything get to you. I honestly think most kids wouldn't be able to take some of the day-to-day experiences that you have gone through. Sure, you never have had anything devastating happen to you in high school, but in the eyes of a high schooler, eating lunch in a bathroom stall on occasion and being called ridiculous names, having people write about you and what you wear on the internet might have caused some people to crack. You never crack and you never take shit from anybody. You always pick yourself up and go on with life and you always know how to be the bigger person in any situation.

While a lot of kids have their friends to confide in, you confide in yourself. Because friends in high school come and go and you know this all too well. And you will laugh to yourself as you get older when boys from high school who either didn't even know you existed or were total douche bags to you, try and speak to you. You will be polite and give them the time of day because you're a nice person and are able to forgive. However, you won't just suddenly forget.

And deciding not to attend your high school graduation and being told by everybody that you will regret that choice one day? Hahah. As you always do, don't listen to them. I can tell you for a absolute fact that 10 years later, you will not regret that or even think twice about not going to your high school graduation. You definitely had a more enjoyable time watching Children of the Corn or whatever you ended up doing that graduation night. The truth is, now I look back and there are so many qualities that I truly admire about you even though the majority of your peers don'treally appreciate or even notice what you have to offer. You are one of the strongest kids around who sticks to their guns no matter what. As you grow older, you will cave a few times but deep down inside, you will always be that same 15-year-old girl who sat in the back of the bus with her headphones in, trying to avoid eye contact with anybody who looked her way. You are a part of who I am today and I am so appreciative of your small struggles as a teenager.

You might not know it now, but these struggles will help prepare you for what is to come in life.

I will conclude this letter by saying what I know you need to hear. I've said it throughout this letter and I will say it again, you are a worthwhile person no matter what anybody tells you. And I know from experience that even being told that by somebody else might have little to no effect. It's only when you can tell yourself that, that it becomes real. Continue on being your true self and don't listen to what they say. I'll be here 10-12 years later cheering you on from the side lines. :)