Hello,

Let me start by telling you how proud you have made me! You have overcome so much in this last year and you deserve all that life can offer; it is nowhere near over yet, though. You have accomplished so much, have changed (for the better), and have matured. I am so proud of you.

I wanted to offer some advice, some 'heads up' for what you should expect in the next year. Some of it will go as planned, but life is notorious for throwing curve balls and there are a few of them in this next year as well.

The first tip is to continue working hard. You have big goals for someone your age; you want to accomplish great feats and you have a lot of work on the long road ahead. But there isn't anything that you cannot achieve with some hard work, determination, and tenacity. Life's obstacles will be unexpected (see aforementioned section on the curve balls). You will want to give up, you will want to fall to your knees and cry for days, don't. Get up and wipe your eyes. Get back to work. Keep working until you no longer have to introduce yourself.

You will experience heartbreak, but not the kind that comes from a romantic relationship. I think that people fail to realize that you can experience heartbreak in any number of ways. Like that day in August when you got the word that two of your favorite people passed away, that was heartbreak. The day you found your hamster dead in it's cage, heartbreak. When one of your long-time friends stopped being a friend, that too was heartbreak. You're going to experience it once or twice in the coming year. But remember, you can get through this.

Be the best that you can be! Surround yourself with intelligent, motivated, and driven people. Set your bar high and do NOT climb down from it. There are moments where holding on is going to hurt, it's going to hurt bad. But this is the challenge that we have to face in order to reach greatness. Wake up, dress up, and get ready to take on the day.

You are getting ready to embark on an amazing adventure and you have all of the right people, ideas, and goals to back you up! You only need a little bit of courage and coffee, a whole lot of Jesus and faith, and a little bit of determination and tenacity. I promise you, you've got this.

One last thing...

Love, you.