Dear Teenage Years,

Tomorrow is my twentieth birthday, marking the end of our relationship.

That’s weird to me. We’ve kind of been through a lot together.

We’ve entered, endured, and exited high school. We’ve moved housed, made new friends, auditioned for musicals, traveled to new cities, been to prom and homecoming. We’ve learned to drive, gotten a car, been to college, and spilled a lot of coffee.

It’s been a wild ride, full of ups and downs, awkward moments, and learning experiences.

Now I know that you shouldn’t carry all the money you made babysitting in your wallet, because when you leave you bag at a restaurant, it’ll be long gone by the time you come back for it.

Now I know how to get deal with things not turning out how I imagined.

Now I know that having a job while taking two AP classes was probably not the best decision for my sanity.

Now I know that although you think you have it all together in high school, you really don’t.

My advice to my teenage self is to learn to be okay with who you are.

Stand up for yourself-being polite doesn’t mean being spineless.

Ask for what you want-no one can read you mind and it’ll make things a whole lot simpler.

Try new things and don’t be afraid of the results/the opinions of others.

Don’t gossip, that’s reserved for people who are bored with their own lives.

Don’t take rejection too personally.

Don’t take success too personally either.

Stressing out about little things is a waste of time.

Never be too busy to be a good friend.

I’m grateful for my teenage self, the good, the bad and less-than-cute.

I’m thankful for the memories I made.

When I accidentally drove on the wrong side of the road (sorry for almost killing us, mom)

When I wore pajamas to the Silent Night basketball game my senior year.

When Maddie and I got lost in a corn field.

When I went to Vancouver with my church choir.

When I finally figured out how to deal with curly hair.

When I saw Les Miserables on Broadway, and cried.

When I discovered that I am a coffee and tea person.

When I made some of my best friends in the world.

These are the years that have made me me.

And I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Here’s to the big 2-0.