I can assume that you’re anxiously reading this letter, confused and concerned about who wrote this — well, surprise, it’s you, four years into the future. You’re currently a junior in college and your ventures with applications and tears over grades in high school paid off because you’re in college. You're doing really well right now, but the struggles are nowhere near over. I promise you, though, it got a lot easier.

I’m not writing this letter to tell you that things are going to change and that everything is going to be perfect, that everything goes according to plan because that would be a lie. Our futures are unpredictable, and if we could see into the future, we would know to avoid certain situations and relationships. That way, everything would sail smoothly for us. But even at 16, you knew this would be purposeless, as experience fosters growth. I promise you’ll learn that lesson brutally throughout the following years.

You're currently a sophomore, just got your license and are thinking about the possibilities out there for you now. You have no idea what these next two years will bring. They will bring you after-prom-parties, weekends in people's basements hiding booze from their parents and your first love. With all of these changes, don’t push away what you have and don’t run from it; let yourself fall for that boy to the point of insanity and tell him that you love him back because you’re going to learn that he matters so so much. Enjoy what you have because pretty soon, he’s going to break your heart and you’re going to think you’re dying. To this day, it's the worst pain I have felt. You're going to go through a roller-coaster of emotions, heart break and bad decisions, but that is life, you know that. You are not dying. You are living and you are learning.

You’ll realize how you truly feel once it’s too late, but it’s never really too late. This goes for friendships and relationships with your family, too. Love and companionship have no expiration date, and forgiveness can go a long way. This is one of the hardest lessons you will learn: to forgive. Forgive those who wronged you because everyone is human and people make mistakes. You have made mistakes too, and you can apologize no matter how late you think it is. It doesn’t matter if it’s been five weeks, months or years — it’s never too late to rekindle and to strengthen. Remember this as you go through the next four years because while you’re going to need a lot of support, but you’ll survive.

You’ll see and feel and do and have a lot of things done unto you that you can’t even imagine right now. But when you try to tackle them alone and fight these demons by yourself, remember this: you don’t have to do it alone. I know you’re rolling your eyes now. Believe me, you’ll come to this realization once during freshman year of college and again at age 20. It's going to take one very extreme circumstance to drill it into your head to make you believe it, but you’ll find that sometimes, we simply need other people. And when you're sad or need help, you sometimes have to ask to receive. Don’t waste your time getting angry and frustrated when people aren't helping or supporting you. They simply just don’t know what you need, so don’t be afraid to ask. I would tell you to speak up, but the one thing that won't change over these next four years is your willingness to give and give and give, and never ask for anything in return. It is both a gift and a curse, I know.

This factor will bring many different relationships to you. A lot of your anxiety and disappointment with these relationships stems from feeling as though you’re giving more than you’re getting. This will frustrate you, but try to internalize that there is no weakness in loving unconditionally so long as you are not being purposefully treated disrespectfully. There are absolutely people in the world who for some reason or another, do not like you. They will take advantage of you, manipulate you and treat you as less than you are worth. Unfortunately, there are people who will not treat you so nicely. They will lie to you and lash out at you, and these people haven't learned to love themselves which makes it hard for them to love you back as equally as you do to them. Do not stick around to people who treat you so poorly.You do not need them. You will be fine without them. This is the hardest lesson you will learn.

The next four years aren’t going to be easy, but they won’t be impossible either. Nothing in your life is. Your mindset will help you overcome the unimaginable. There will be times where you think you can't take it, where you'll think there is no way you can go on living without him. It gets easier, I promise you that. Start to give yourself a little more credit; you’re not half as bad as you may think you are.