Dear senior year Jaimie:

It is fall of 2013 and you are a senior in high school. You overwhelm yourself with theatre, dance, volleyball, driver’s education classes, and getting straight A’s. You have a great group of friends who lift you up. You are planning to go to college in North Carolina next year and you’re going to major in elementary education. You seem to think that you have your entire life planned out, but you don’t. All I can say is, your life is about to change.

Right now, you put all your focus and energy on what all typical high school seniors do. You are getting good grades, applying to colleges, getting accepted to colleges, being around your friends every day, getting no sleep because you have rehearsal until 9 PM every night that is a half hour away and then coming home to always get homework done. You are waking up at 6 AM every Saturday and Sunday to go to driver's ed classes and then going to dance classes right from there. You get overwhelmed, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. You seem to strive on stress. Take a step back and breathe. Don't spend your time focusing on things that are not important.

Next year is going to be one of the hardest years for you. You are going to cry almost every single day. You are going to force yourself to throw up. You are going to stay in bed all weekend. Depression will take over your social life. You are going to transfer home, something you promised yourself you’d never do. You will no longer strive on stress. Stress will overtake your mind.

You will wish for a long time that you had never gone to that college. You will hold grudges on people you met there. But, this experience made you a better person. You can stand up for yourself. You can handle stress and not conform to the crowd.

Moral of the story, senior year Jaimie, do not change a thing. Every single thing that has happened in these past 3 years has shaped you. Though you could have lived without hearing some hurtful words thrown at you, this only shows how strong you can be. Everything will fall into place, just be patient.