And to anyone else who will also be 19 years old in 2018 - this is it.

This is the last year of a time we will look back at and say, "you know, when I was a teenager," to share stories with our friends and family (perhaps even with our own teenagers someday).

Count one more year as a blessing, and another opportunity to better ourselves. To grow. To learn. To laugh. To cry.

These are all things we cannot do without time. We are lucky to have more time - the only thing another year can buy us. We are not old, yet we are not young enough to get away with everything anymore.

So Dear Nineteen,

Please continue to guide me into becoming a better version of myself. Please keep me strong through all the pain and the hurt that might come my way. Open my eyes and my heart to see new things I was blind to before.

Engage my mind to the rest of the world as I become older and wiser. Let this year continue to keep me from any harm, yet take me through the dangers of thrilling adventures.

Make me braver. Make me confident. Let this be a year I can look back on as the last of my teen years.