Dear Me,

You're going to be okay. This is going to pass. These feelings, these emotions--everything will pass. Right now, you're tired. Right now, you're sad. Right now, the only thing you're feeling is pain. But I promise that it will pass. It always does. It always will.

The people you have problems with right now? In fifteen years, they will be nothing more than a faded out memory that you can barely recall. They won't think of you and you won't think of them. The things they say to you, the things you remember late at night when you can't sleep, they will be nothing more than a memory when all of this is over.

The grades you're stressing over? The test scores that are making you cry? They're just going to encourage you to try harder. They're going to push you to do better, to make yourself better. You're going to be upset with them now, sure, but you can get through this. In a couple of years, you'll get your degree and you'll walk down that stage with a diploma and a grin on your face.

The boy you think you love? In twenty years, when you're married and have started a family, you won't remember him expect for on rainy days. The things he says to you, the way he makes you feel, you'll forget all about him when you find The One. You may think he is right now, but you're young. Things will get better.

The argument you had? In fifteen years, you're not even going to remember why you were fighting in the first place. Things you said, things they said, will be nothing more than a fading memory and you'll never think of it again. It can't hurt you.

My point is this--things hurt now. Memories can still cause pain. Your chest might still hurt, your eyes might still water, your lips might still tremble. But they are going to make you stronger. So much stronger than you'll ever know. A memory can't hurt you. It'll dredge up old feelings and emotions, and yeah, it may suck, but you will forget it. You will move on. You may not think you will right now, but you will. I can guarantee it. I've been alive for eighteen, verging on nineteen, years now. I've been through things that still haunt me to this day. But I'm stronger now because of it. Recently, I've gone through some things that have made me question myself and how I view myself. But, with the help of my friends, I've begun to realize that I'm the one making things hard on myself. All I needed to do was take a step back, take a deep breath, and do some things for myself and I would be okay. Right now, I still get sad, I still have low points, but I'm working towards bettering myself and sometimes I really need to remember that memories may open old wounds, but wounds can heal and so can I.