Hey girl,

Listen. Stop thinking this is the new you. This isn't you. This is just a phase and a season. You'll find her again, you can still be her again. It isn't over. Who you are right now isn't who you will always be.

You are growing up and going out into the world on your own. You are exploring and experimenting. You are tasting freedom for the first time in your life, and with that newfound freedom comes moderation. But chances are you probably overdid it. You messed up. You had the taste of a little too much freedom and now you've made mistakes that you will always wish you could take back. But you can't, and that's OK.

You live, and you learn. Mistakes happen to the best of us, but you cannot allow them to define you as a person. Learn from them, grow from them and move on.

Sure, we are constantly evolving and changing as time moves forward, but who you were during the first 20-something years of your life, has enough definition in and of itself. Not a day, week, month or even a year of falling off the wagon could change who you were and always have been at heart. Because who you are, is not where you've been.

Realize the kind of person you were raised to be. Maybe that isn't you anymore but that can change. You can still be her. Don't stay down. Rise up and make sure to do better the next time. And remember this: even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise.

Sincerely,
A girl who has been there.