Oh my dear girl...

There is so much you don't know. So much to come. So much to overcome. Perhaps we don't go to Harvard. That author dream is coming along nicely though. For a nine year old you planned things ridiculously specifically. I give you credit for that.You also had a lot of ambition. Don't worry that hasn't changed. To put your mind at ease before we really get into things, our book collection is truly the envy of all who see it. And (SPOILER ALERT) Harry Potter lives and marries Ginny. You totally called it. Now let's get into some actual advice I can bestow upon you...

At nineteen, we've learned a lot. In ten years, we moved four times, went to middle school, high school, and started college. We've had a few jobs, read lots of books, written all kinds of things, met all kinds of people, been on adventures, conquered some of our fears, traveled, gotten into some trouble, (Don't freak out it's natural), and adopted some cats and a fish. You haven't lost the talents and skills you had in third grade, but together we've developed those and grown new ones. That's important, believe it or not darling you didn't have everything planned out to the last detail, though I did recently come across the list of things you had planned for your life all the way to the age of eighty. Sorry we didn't make prom queen nor were we on the New York Times Best Seller List by the age of sixteen. That is the first thing you should work on. Don't have such over the top expectations. You push yourself to impossibilities and then beat yourself up when you don't succeed. Give yourself room to succeed and grace when failure occurs, because it will.

Another thing. You don't ALWAYS have to be on the nice list. You work so hard to be perfectly perfect in every way. Now you know the difference between right and wrong, but it's OK to have a little harmless fun once in awhile. This may surprise you, but actually you'll grow to be quite adventurous. It's not a bad thing. I know you that your books are your adventures... but go find the things IN the books. They will still be on your perfectly pristine shelf when you get back.

Don't hide yourself. Ever. People will pressure you to. Some bad times are coming Gracie. You're going to want to run away and mold yourself into what you think people want to see. Don't. It's only going to make you hate yourself, and make the situation worse. You ARE strong. Always have been. You have a beautiful mind and a strong heart. You're a Gryffindor, brave, courageous, chivalrous, daring, and bold. (Trust me J.K. Rowling's website confirms this). You carry no shame, no matter what anyone tells you. Speak your mind. Stand up for yourself because there's no fairy godmother in our story. You're the hero but sometimes you can be your own villain. Love is your secret weapon. I've never seen anyone with the capacity to love others like you. Learn to apply it to yourself and you could be invincible.

I'll keep things going as smoothly as I can, but when the waters get choppy we'll be fine my dear, we always are. See you in ten years.

yours truly,

Grace