If time travel or reverse time capsules were possible, I would write a letter to my sixteen-year-old self. Here are 17 pieces of advice I would give (sixteen, and one for good luck):
1. You are loved. It may not be the romantic love you are searching for, but all good things will come in time. Therefore, do not take those who love you for granted--your family and friends.
2. Always respect yourself. Carry yourself with dignity, and others will respect you as a result.
3. Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate.
4. Be patient and have faith. Don't worry about the future--everything is going to be just fine, I promise!
5. You don't have to take crap from people who are not related to you. Don't be a doormat.
6. Be confident. If you act confident, you will be confident.
7. Do not worry about what other people think about you. Find strength in your identity and the person you know yourself to be deep down.
8. Find friends who will treat you like gold. Likewise, be a good friend.
9. Grandma was right: you are and always will be a princess. Do not let anyone tell you different.
10. Value yourself. You are special. You are unique. You are worth it.
11. Don't do things just because everyone else is doing it. Be your own person.
12. Do not envy others. You don't realize the burdens others bear or issues they struggle with underneath the surface.
13. You were right -- boys are stupid. They were stupid then and they're stupid now. They will continue to be stupid. They won't grow up; they only get older. But don't worry -- continue to have faith that a good man is still out there because I still do.
14. Do not believe everything a boy tells you, especially if it's exactly what you want to hear. Be skeptical, be wary. Boys lie to get what they want!
15. Do not be a hoochie.
16. The strongest of all warriors are these two -- Time and Patience. (Leo Tolstoy)
17. Do not settle. You're sixteen -- dream BIG.
Love always,
You at 23
1. You are loved. It may not be the romantic love you are searching for, but all good things will come in time. Therefore, do not take those who love you for granted--your family and friends.
2. Always respect yourself. Carry yourself with dignity, and others will respect you as a result.
3. Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate.
4. Be patient and have faith. Don't worry about the future--everything is going to be just fine, I promise!
5. You don't have to take crap from people who are not related to you. Don't be a doormat.
6. Be confident. If you act confident, you will be confident.
7. Do not worry about what other people think about you. Find strength in your identity and the person you know yourself to be deep down.
8. Find friends who will treat you like gold. Likewise, be a good friend.
9. Grandma was right: you are and always will be a princess. Do not let anyone tell you different.
10. Value yourself. You are special. You are unique. You are worth it.
11. Don't do things just because everyone else is doing it. Be your own person.
12. Do not envy others. You don't realize the burdens others bear or issues they struggle with underneath the surface.
13. You were right -- boys are stupid. They were stupid then and they're stupid now. They will continue to be stupid. They won't grow up; they only get older. But don't worry -- continue to have faith that a good man is still out there because I still do.
14. Do not believe everything a boy tells you, especially if it's exactly what you want to hear. Be skeptical, be wary. Boys lie to get what they want!
15. Do not be a hoochie.
16. The strongest of all warriors are these two -- Time and Patience. (Leo Tolstoy)
17. Do not settle. You're sixteen -- dream BIG.
Love always,
You at 23
