Dear 16 year old me,
You are now 17 years older and wiser. You have been through the many ups and downs that come with life and have come out on the other side stronger and at times a little more jaded.
I can’t go back in time and change your path but I can tell you you’ve learned and grown from the mistakes as well as the victories.
Despite this there are a few things I want you to know about life, love and friendships.
Be your own, independent self
Too many times it is easy to follow the crowd and lose your own individual identity. You wear what’s trendy even if you don’t like the style, join the popular crowd even if you don’t like the people, and and mute your ideals because someone may not agree with you. You should dress and act how you want to. You are your own person and nobody, not even the popular crowd, can take that away from you.
Don’t be a mean girl
There will be so many girls who will try to bring you down. Girls who will make fun of you for the way you look, the way you dress, even your weight. Don’t be one of those girls. Be better then them. Be the girl that is remembered as being kind, the one that people like because you made them feel good. Those mean girls in high school will most likely stay mean girls into college and then become the mean girls on the PTA. My point is, be kind to everyone. You’ll feel better about yourself in the end.
You are not fat
You are not overweight. You may look in the mirror and not feel comfortable in your own skin but I am here to tell you that your body issues are unfounded. Your body will go through many changes as you get older including weight gain, weight loss and creating two tiny, beautiful lives. Embrace your ability to wear whatever the fuck you want to now while your still a size 4 and your metabolism is sky high.
That boy you thought was the one, was not and will never be the one
In fact, you will meet a man who will be everything you wanted and more later on in life. Stop focusing on trying to get this guy in high school who will most likely end up meaning nothing to you later on. Also with that said, if a guy wants to be with you he will be with you. He won’t wait to call for days on end, blow you off or make comments about how he’s just not ready for a relationship right now. If he does any of these things: run. Don’t settle for anything less then you deserve. This is one thing you will learn the hard way.
Chase your dreams
If you want to become a lawyer or try to go to the Olympics for high jump: chase after it. It’s okay to have big goals in life. These dreams may come crashing down but you will always regret not trying. In my opinion regret is worse then failure.
It’s okay not to have your entire life planned out
I spent many sleepless, panic filled nights wondering what I was going to do with my life. Which college to go to, which career path to take, questioning if I was making the right choice. I’m here to tell you that none of that mattered. You will eventually find your way and it may be doing something you never thought you would do like becoming a nurse.
No one in the real world gives a shit if you were the most popular in your class
They give a shit about your character, your work ethic and your personality. Sure it feels good to be liked and have people know your name long after you graduated but in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter 10 years down the road.
You’ve hit a few bumps along the road but you’ve managed to find a job you love, become a mom and find the man of your dreams. Is your life what you pictured it to be at 16? No, but in some ways it’s better. So hang in there. You’ll get to all the good and the bad that growing up has to offer.
Yes yes yes! That part about high school boys 🙂 Awesome! Know your worth!
I am 25. If I could go back to 16 I would just say to myself, “Vent out your pain, don’t repress it. Close people die and it is a part of life”.
You will have many more of these dear you letter throughout your life. As long as you keep learning about yourself you will be fine!
Such great tips to a younger you. I wish we had these tips when we needed them most. By the way you gave away your age lol.
Oh man, a letter to 16-year-old me would say – DO NOT GIVE A CRAP WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK because THEY DO NOT MATTER AT ALL!
Such a great post. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and give myself a talking to.
This is lovely. I should probably write one of these myself. My life is not at all like the way I thought it was when I was younger…
This resonates so much. Every 16 year old girl should read this. I believe in a time of social media influences that that have it even Harder than we did
This is amazing, thank you so much for sharing. I’d like to say a lot of this to my 16 year old self too.
I remember being 16 and how insecure I felt as a teenager. But I also remember that confidence and self esteem grows and you care less about what people think as you get older.
It’s definitely so important to be yourself, it’s taken me a long time to believe it but it’s so important!
I love this! I would have so much to say to my 16 year old self.
Wish I could talk to my 16 year old self, I would surely tell her to chase her dreams as well.
I just love reading these! Don’t you wish we really could go back in time and speak to our younger selves. All that time wasted worrying about “popularity” and feeling fat. Beautiful post!
What a beautiful reflection. It inspired me to look back on how much I’ve changed since 16 (I’m 24 years old now), and think about what I would have told her. One thing for sure, would be to follow my gut!
I can relate to this! I was such an insecure teenager. There’s a lot I could tell my 16-year-old-self if I could turn back the hands of time!
Wow, this is such a nice article to read and if I am going to say something about my 16-year-old self I would rather say be happy and contented in what you have and love without asking any conditions.
This is such a nice post to read and I am glad that at the young age you are able to understand everything in your life. Thanks for sharing this with us!
This is a great post to think of a younger me. I would to write as for myself .
What an interesting and insightful post! I really enjoyed your perspective and look forward to reading more from you in the future!
Yes! I especially love the bit about no-one caring about whether you were most popular. The real world doesn’t care!