Dear Senior Citizen Me,

I hope you have wrinkles, and lots of them – the kind that come from laughing too much (even though you're embarrassed by your laugh now), and the crow's feet near your eyes. I hope you aren't insecure if you have varicose veins and gray hair and have to wear bifocals. A long life is a privileged life.

I really hope you've had fun. My grandma always says she wants me to learn and to do well, but most importantly, she wants me to have fun. I've only just begun to realize the importance of that sentiment.

I hope you've forgiven those who have hurt you. There's no point in holding onto sadness or anger. I hope you've apologized to those whom you've hurt, and I hope you meant it. Learning to accept when you're wrong and to learn from your mistakes is something I'm still working on, so I hope you're better at it in the future.

I hope you stop stressing. I spend so much of my time worrying about my grades, my jobs, my future, and most unfortunately, what people think about me. I really, really hope that you learn to relax. I'm nineteen-years-old and life has taken care of me so far, so I'm sure it still will in the future. I hope you become comfortable in your own skin.

I've had my heart broken a few times already, and I hope you still remember it. But I hope you remember it with a kind of nostalgia instead of sadness. I hope you remember the nights I cried, and how I thought I would never be happy again. I hope you're sitting there right now, happy as ever, laughing at my naivete. I hope you are proud of the way I always ended up okay. I hope you've fallen in love and stayed there.

I hope that you never stopped caring. I care about so many things and so many people, and that's one of the things that I do love about myself. I hope you care about justice, and people's hearts, and animals, and books. I hope you've never stopped writing. I hope that you've shown everyone what you can do with your heart and your talent. I hope writing continues to save your soul.

I hope you're good to yourself, and to others. I hope you appreciate the life that you've lived. My life seems so serious and so significant, but I'm so young. I have so much time left, and you have less time. I hope you feel like your story is significant still, but I hope you realize that regardless of its ending, it is a beautiful story. I'm coming to terms with the fact that not everything is in my control, and I hope that you learn to make peace with that every day. I hope you're so happy, and above all, I hope you're proud of me.

P.S., I hope you're as dope as Baddie Winkle.