As I near my 20th birthday (and the inevitable change of the name of this blog), I've been reflecting on my years as a teenager. Recently I read a friend's blog which included a letter to her 13-year-old self. It's something I found fascinating to read and I thought I might try the same:
Dear 13-year-old me,
Welcome to teenagerdom. It is a magical world that is vastly unrelated to what is shown on television and in movies. At least, that's what you'll experience. Now, don't freak out - it's actually a good thing and will pay off in the long run. Keep your chin up until age 15 - tall girls have to grow out of the gangly skinny awkwardness, and I promise it will be worth it when you're walking down a high fashion runway at age 16 (and then not so when you gain ten pounds and your representation drops you - but that will work itself out as well). Don't freak out when you don't make the best grades from 13 - 15 either - when you leave the hell that is private school you'll be making a solid 4.0, all the way through 19/college. You won't be the object of every boy's affection, but that's okay. Boys are intimidated by tall women - you're looking for a man that can handle you and still be comfortable with himself. They're slim pickings, but I promise they're out there.
When you're 17 you'll be cheated on by a worm of a boy that doesn't deserve even your slightest notion of attention - be sad about it, and then move on. Don't obsess about it your junior year....it won't fix anything and you'll just end up angry. When you are 16 you'll meet a nice boy who you'll be friends with until you're 18. You'll date him for ten months, and then you'll understand that he's not right for you at all and break it off. If you could realize it sooner, you would do yourself a favor. He'll say some awfully nasty things that will break your heart, and eventually he'll rot the friendship you once had from the inside out. Sounds awful, right? But don't fret. You haven't heard the good things yet.
When you're 14 you'll win the school spelling bee, and rekindle your love for writing. And when you're 17, you'll publish your first novel. At 19, it will be available on both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. When you're 16 you'll set the public library record for most books read in a period - in this case a summer, and you'll set it at 421. Beat that. Ages 17 - 19 you'll be the envy of your friends - your gangly awkward body will finally fill out into beautiful well placed curves that will leave your friends wishing they had your body. At 17, you'll be getting into the swing of your junior year, and you'll meet your best friend in the whole world. You won't know it of course - the two of you won't become close until right before you'll graduate. But you'll stay friends the rest of your lives. She's your future maid of honor, and you hers. At 19, you'll meet the boy of your dreams, who might actually become the man you spend the rest of your life with. But hey, please get into your twenties before that happens.
You won't be the crazy party-er in high school like it shows in the movies and on Gossip Girl. Hell, you won't have even had a sip of alcohol (aside from family parties, holidays, etc) before you get to college. But you'll establish morals that are hard to beat. You'll put a great head on your shoulders. You'll care more about your friends and the people closest to you than they could possibly imagine, and your loyalty to them will earn you major points. You'll have the opportunity to be a member of the greatest sorority ever created, and you'll shine in leadership roles there.
So, if ever there were a time to give advice, mine would be this: don't change a thing. Your teenage years will be one hell of a ride, but by the time you get to the last few months, you won't regret it. What didn't kill you made your stronger (that's your future motto by the way), and the good things can only get better.
Best wishes (and good luck handling puberty),
Your-soon-to-be-very-old older self
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