Dear Me,

I think that’s how I should refer to you. I mean, me. I’m confusing myself already. Anyway, hello from the future. This is your older, but only slightly wiser, self speaking. It’s been a long three year journey from 16 to 19, filled with milestones and a lot of ups and downs. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to remember what it was like to be 16 and wide eyed, with a heart free of scars and a mind free of worry, but I know that was me once. That’s you now.

I won’t lie to you, the past three years have been hard. You will experience a lot. You will make a lot of mistakes you would do anything to take back, but you will learn that we write our stories with pen, not pencil. Mostly, you will learn. Lucky for you, the good moments outshine the bad, as good moments should. So, what exactly am I here for? I’m here to provide you with some advice that I could’ve used three years ago, when I was 16 and trying to find my way.

At 16, you’re probably thinking about boys...a lot. I’ll let you know now, that doesn’t change. But, as you get older and gain some experience dealing with the hardships of life and the relationships within it, the days of quietly crushing on the boy in your Algebra class will be over. As your heart is broken and battered, you will stop looking for someone to pass the time, and start looking for someone who will be gentle with your heart.

I’m here to tell you that over the course of the next three years, you will love. You will learn the difference between love and infatuation. You will place your heart in the wrong hands. You will place your heart in the right hands at the wrong time. It will shatter. I’m so sorry, but it will. People will come into your life and teach you a lot more than they will ever know, maybe even more than you will ever know. There will be the one who was only meant to be temporary. It will hurt then, but I promise you are so much better off this way. There will be the one who was never supposed to be there in the first place, but there’s no fixing the mistakes we write in ink. Lastly, there will be the one that comes into your life and leaves...and then comes back...and then leaves again, and so on and so forth. They’ll be the one you’ll love more than you probably should. They’ll be the one that you just can’t quite shake and you don’t know why. That’s okay. You don’t need to try and figure it out. Trust the path that has been laid for you and never ever lose the kindness that is in your heart.

Over the next three years, friends will come and go. Some you will have to cut out by hand. Don’t feel ashamed for that. You will breathe better without them. Some will slowly drift away, no matter how hard you try to stop them. Understand that you are not the moon, you can not control the tides. Most importantly, you will meet a few people that will stand by your side through anything. Make sure you stand by them too.

On this journey there will be times when you want to give up. You will feel stuck, broken, and most of all scared. That’s okay. Moments like these can’t be avoided. Moments like these are what give you strength. Don’t ask for a lighter load, simply ask for a stronger back.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: you will be okay. You will reach the peak of every mountain you must climb. When your heart breaks, it will heal. When you get stabbed in the back, you will recover. When you hurt, you will feel okay again. Life will beat you, batter you, and ultimately change you, but you will be okay. I can promise you that.

So what’s it like now, as your 19 year old self? I’ll be honest, life doesn’t magically get better once you get a boyfriend, or your license (okay, maybe it does a little bit in this case), or turn 18, or go to college. Often times, life is a lot harder than it was when I was your age.. I’m only a little bit wiser than I was then, but I’m a hell of a lot stronger.

The good news is that you are going to make so many memories in the next three years (trust me, your iPhoto is FULL). You will laugh, you will go on crazy adventures, and you will start to figure out who you are. The journey ahead may look daunting, but I promise you I wouldn’t want it any other way. And when you’re feeling like you need someone like me to tell you what to do, just know that I, we, did this once before, all on our own. And though we aren’t exactly perfect, we made it this far.

Keep your head up, otherwise the crown falls.

Sincerely,

You