Dear everyone who is now in their late 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, and so on: We're not the same.

What does that mean? Well, I'm sure you're all aware of how people that are older will usually give you advice on what to do and what not to do. It's something that's almost ingrained in all of us. When you're older than someone, you're inclined to give them some tips on what you strongly believe to be true. I do this too. I have given advice to my younger brother on many things, until I realized that some of the things I told him wouldn't benefit him; they were just consequences of what I did when I was his age. Advising him to do this and do that because this could happen and that could also happen were basically just a way for me to talk about the mistakes I've made in my past. Guess what? My brother didn't need to hear that. I didn't help him in any way.

This goes for others who have talked with the younger generations then told them about regrettable experiences, and what they should do if similar incidents ever come their way. Here's the thing: They're not you. They might not have the same things happen to them as they happened to you. Unfortunately, life changes through the years from generation to generation. Those who lived through the '70s aren't always going to be familiar with life now. Even those who grew up in the late '90s are also not going to be completely familiar with what goes on now.

I've received advice from many people. When I was 10, I was told to never grow up. When I was 15, I was told that I would make many trustworthy friends and meet a nice guy. When I was nearly 20, I was told to think about another career field and to avoid a college relationship as it would limit my freedom. What will I be told when I'm 25? 30? I don't know, but I can guarantee you that so far, the advice I've been given hasn't necessarily applied to me as it did to those who were advising me. I've come to realize that it's not really anyone's fault. They just think they are helping me, and I understand. I thought that I helped my brother. What they don't realize though is that they lived differently than how I did at certain ages. They forgot that times have changed, and I don't think the same way as they do.

At 10 years old, I thought about the image of growing up people depicted for me -- that it was awful, that growing up isn't fun. Well, I came to realize that while they were right with one thing, how growing up involves more responsibilities and more burdens, but they were wrong because I actually like growing up now. I don't want to go back to being 10 years old; I was annoying, always looking for attention, always loud. Therefore, no, I would not and did not stop growing up.

At 15, I was far from what people told me would happen. I had some good friends. They were fun to be with and great to talk to. I also had some friendships that didn't last, and that hurt. This was common among all of us. Although it was just a few friends that I lost, it still pained me to find out who they became, how they couldn't be trusted. I didn't meet a nice guy either. Instead, a year later I went out with a couple of guys and found out what they were really in for with me; I wasn't on the same page with them. The other guys I liked had one thing in common: They all had girlfriends. So I guess this age was different for me than it was for a lot of others.

Now I'm 19, and I'm pretty happy. I got into my dream school and I'm now a sophomore there, I made new friends and keep in touch with some past friends, I'm with an amazing guy, and I've gotten many opportunities for my future. Life is good. Perfect? No, but good. I've been told that the friends I made at school and the ones I talk to from home won't last. I've been told that I shouldn't be with one guy right now as it will potentially ruin my freedom, and prevent me from being with other people. I've been told that what I am studying in school is probably not beneficial to me.

Let me break all of this down. My close friends, as we all meet new friends and hang out with them as we should, will still be my friends. Why? Because I won't simply ignore them and just accept the notion that they'll just "go away anyway." How will they continue to be my friends? It's simple: I'll just keep in touch with them. Not hard. My boyfriend isn't taking away my freedom or my chances of meeting new people. In fact, I've met more people than before. We go to different schools. We're far away from one another, but guess what? We're OK. We're serious about our career goals and want the best for each other. And, above all, I'm happy with him; sorry if that's such a bad thing. I have guy friends. Do I feel the same way for them? No. But that's not terrible of me. I don't want random hookups as part of my college experience. I now understand that this is exactly what is generally expected while you're in college. So if you haven't done this, watch out -- the pressure's on, you'll feel like it's a requirement in life. I want what I want. As for what I'm studying, I'll make this brief. I'm double majoring in theatre and English because I like both, and because I will find work in what I want to do that pertains to both majors. I don't want to study science or math. I don't want to be a lawyer or a doctor. These are all excellent for the people that want them, but I don't.

For those of you that familiarize yourselves with this, congratulations. Is this sarcasm? Honestly, no. I mean it. We should all congratulate ourselves right now that we have been advised by older people because although their advice was mainly better for them than it was for us, we got something out of it. What we have now from this is more knowledge, maturity, patience, and strength -- knowledge on what happened to other people, how to listen to them, and how to respond, maturity in how we handle ourselves and our reactions, patience through others' dissent with what we believe in, and strength in what we strongly think is best for us and what we want.

So for the other generations that look at us and only see mistakes, and how we can easily fix them through listening to your experiences, please take a step back. This whole advice-giving thing has happened to you, and while you may think that it really did help you, it didn't. You helped yourself by learning that some of your friends weren't true friends, by discovering how your relationship with that guy or girl became toxic, and by deciphering which college major and career field was right for you all on your own. You did this by yourself, and that's what we are all doing now. We are learning and discovering by ourselves. Thank you for your advice and opinions, but they aren't helping us. You matured through personal experiences, and we are doing that too.

Therefore, all of your generations and ours are not the same. We thank you for trying to help us though. For the generations younger than the one we're in, let's also refrain from overloading them with what we only think to be true. They will feel exactly how we do right now. None of us is the same.