Dear Cuz,

First of all, I want to say congratulations on making it this far. It sounds like a joke, and it is, on a very basic level, but it also isn’t. You’ve lived through 17 whole years of life. That’s 6,205 days of waking up in the morning and going to sleep at night. ... Well okay, I’m a day late writing this, and by the time it gets published… it’ll be more like 6,209 days give or take a day, but that’s not the point.

Life can be exhausting sometimes. I’ve been alive two years longer than you, so I’m pretty much an expert on the whole ‘life’ thing. (That was a joke.)

But you’ve done it.

I’ve known you basically your whole life. There are pictures of the two of us when we’re young, in some of which you look very stressed out to be near me and others in which I am totally manhandling you, which probably explains all the other pictures. What I’m trying to say is that I’ve watched you grow up, even from three hours away. I’ve watched you go from a shrimpy little girl to a shrimpy little woman. I’ve made you laugh so hard you couldn’t breathe, and I’ve seen you cry more times than I can count (You cry a lot over Disney movies, and that’s okay.). I remember when we were both obsessed with the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, when we made you a tumblr, and when we stayed up late to watch youtube videos together. I’ve watched you go from elementary school to middle school to high school and soon I’m going to watch you go to college.

That scares me, but I am so unbelievably proud of you.

You’ve grown up to be one of the nicest, funniest people I know. Seriously, your comedic timing is always perfect, and I can’t even tell you the number of times I’ve literally laughed out loud at a text you’ve sent me. I wish I got to see you more. On top of your stunning character, you’re one of the most talented people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. It’s almost annoying. Whether you’re writing, or drawing, or painting, or taking photos, you’re doing it better than everyone else in the room, and most of the time you’re one of the youngest people in that room.

You’re incredible.

You and I have been talking about college lately because you’re going into your senior year. I’ve tried to express to you that it’s your decision, and your decision alone. This is the time in your life that you need to be a little selfish in order to make yourself happy, because college is the place you’re going to be spending the next four years of your life. You’re going to meet your best friends in the world there, and it’s going to be your home away from home. You’re going to make amazing things there, and learn more about yourself than you ever thought was possible. I bring all this up because I want you to know that a) it’s still very relevant, and b) I know that wherever you go, whatever you decide to do, you’re going to be incredible at it. And I don’t mean in the kind of way in the movies- you aren’t going to get it right on the first try, and there won’t be celebrations of your grandeur. You’re going to mess up. A lot. You’re going to fail, and it’s going to suck, and it’ll make you cry. I’ve been there. That’s where the learning comes in. You’re going to learn from those mistakes, and I know that you’re the kind of person that’ll take those lessons to heart. I know you’re going to better yourself through them, and through those failures, you’ll make incredible, amazing, mind-blowing things.

Also, don’t listen to anyone who says you need to grow up right away. Sure, you have to do some more grown-up things. You’ll have more work, and maybe you’ll get a job, and you’ll probably move away for school. But you’re going to learn within the first week of college that everyone is just as nervous as you are, and everyone who looks like they know what they’re doing is faking it. Faking it real hard.

The other day, I had a conversation with my future roommate and one of my best friends about which split Hogwarts houses we would be in (just so you know, we’re both Slytherpuffs). A few days before that, a few of us all decided who in our squad was which Disney villain. It was intense.

So don’t feel any pressure to grow up. You’re going to meet other people who love the same things you do, and you can all be adult-babies together. You’ll help each other through it, and it’s going to be one of the most transformative experiences of your life.

So, happy belated birthday, cuz.

You can call me anytime.

Love,

Marley xoxo