Hello,
Now is about the time when you reach the age where nothing in the world makes sense. Your peers become hostile, and you are undergoing changes that everyone equates with being the typical stages of a teenager. Your so-called friends will begin to care, not only about what they look like, but how others perceive them. Your parents and teachers will attempt to blame every teenage-like action you perform as normal because it is apparently typical for teens to act out or even lose themselves in a blanket of hormones. People will attempt to bring you down because you don’t have the latest designer purse or over the top shoes. You will be called a nerd or teachers pet because you took the time to study for a test or answer a question correctly in class. School won’t be enough for you or your parents, because all the well-rounded kids who get accepted to good colleges have to do well in school and exceed in a sport or extracurricular activity. What if I were to give you insider advice on how this thing called life really works. After enduring through this life for nineteen years, I can safely say that life is in fact what you make it.
The teenage years will test you and ultimately shape you into the person you will become one day. So when you are faced with the option to have that stereotypical teenage breakdown or fail to abide by the rules, simply take matters into your own hands. You and only you have the power to shape who you ultimately become. So don’t ever for a single second think about shifting away from your own morals, because I promise you when you get older you will thank yourself.
People will be mean. People will attempt to bring you down in a sad effort to make themselves feel better. When that time comes, be sure to always possess kindness. Take the advice your mother always used to give you, and kill them with kindness. You may be tested in this effort, however you must remember that every single person is fighting his or her own battle, and as much as you would like to believe it, you are not superior to anyone. Your behaviors and actions may be perceived as superior in given situations, and the only thing you can do is use those behaviors as an example for your peers.
You are going to want to quit so many times. You are going to want to take on as many challenging courses in school as you can because your parents expect it of you, or you just want to show off to your friends. These classes will be rigorous, and you will constantly question the point as to why you are undergoing so much stress and loss of sleep for an intangible grade. You will fail some tests and that will be okay. You will reach the point of pure exhaustion where you will constantly say to yourself in an effort to justify your actions, “It's okay if i fail this one.”
Sure enough, college will be right around the corner. Your grades will start to mean more than they ever have in the past, and passing AP exams may seem like a matter of life or death. You will constantly look back to the days when life was so much simpler and when you actually got more than six hours of sleep every night. Sports and extracurricular activities will simply be there in order to give you more of an edge on college applications, but in all reality they are eating away at any ounce of free time you once had. The sport you play may seem like it is your long lost passion at first, but as you continue to grow older it may quickly turn into more of a hobby or even an obligation in the midst of your crazy rollercoaster life.
You will make so many friends. These friends may in fact play a huge role as to why you haven’t quit thus far. These will be the people you grow up with, pull all-nighters watching movies with, or even fall asleep under the stars on the beach with. You must never forget to appreciate them while they are there. They may not seem as important as they actually are in those spontaneous moments, but they will be your world. Always remember to never be afraid. Never fear change, because without change half of the things in your life would not exist. Be careful to spend time with people who make you a better version of yourself. You will know exactly what I’m talking about, because when you are with the right people an overwhelming sensation of pure bliss will consume you.
As someone who has already gone through these aspects of growing up, I urge you to follow this advice. Remember to never be afraid of being different. It will be scary isolating yourself from the rest of your peers, but it will be worth it. Remember to study, even when past the point of exhaustion, I promise you that every AP course or test you take will be well worth all the all-nighters in the long run. Remember that it is alright to fail, because without failing there would be no way for you to learn. Remember to always thank the people you love. It will not seem like they are helping you in the moment, but when you look back, you are going to wish you appreciated them more. Remember that the future will come, and there is no point in living for it. Live for the moment you are in right now because before you know it your life will have flashed before your eyes. Remember to love yourself first because you will never be able to love someone whole-heartedly if you do not initially respect yourself. Remember that you will mess up along the path to finding yourself, but I do promise the journey will not be one worth missing.
Sincerely,
Me
