A letter to Teenage Me (Written by 24-Year-Old me)

…And re-posted by almost 30 year old me 🙂 Definitely a more sassy approach but the message comes through

“Dear Jessie,

I’m writing you today because I know how stressed out you are most days lately, and I think it’s important that I fill you in on a few things…

First of all, I know that “they” claim that these are supposedly the “best years of your life”. I’m gonna be blunt with you… that’s a bunch of BS. The best years of your life begin when you start to see your life and the things that happen to you in the right way. The right way meaning the TRUE way. The best years of your life are really up to you.

Remember that test you bombed last week? What about that presentation you gave where you stuttered through the whole thing? That race where you came in last – does that ring a bell? Remember all that? – got it? Now do me a big favor… make sure this is the last time you ever give those memories the privilege of being in that beautiful mind of yours. They have no business there (at least for anything besides motivation, but we’ll get to that part shortly…)

Now, I’m going to let you in on a little secret… those memories that I mentioned before. Guess what? You can’t change them. I know what you’re thinking – “well, no s**t, Sherlock”… because you’re a sarcastic teenager, yes… but also because you’re a hell of a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for. So you can’t change the past right? So, answer this for me… if you can’t change the past, why do you spend the majority of your time there? Why are you stressing yourself out over something that is no longer there? Jessie… Why are you letting those memories (because that’s all they are) – why are you letting those become a reflection on who you are and what you can accomplish?

Now that I have your attention, I’m going to let you in on the best secret of all. This moment. Right now. This is all you have, girl. It’s a beautiful truth that I really want you to hear. Please hear me, Jessie. Focus on the now and what lies ahead – because it’s beautiful. Now, I know that I just brought up the future and that probably freaked you out all over again. I know where your head goes when it comes to that. I bet it looks pretty similar to that “past” you got so caught up in. Probably has the words “failure” and “fear” and “confusion” floating around in the background huh? Well let me ask you again, what are you doing there? Are you a fortune teller or something now? Don’t get offended by this – I just find it a little bit funny the amount of time you seem to spend in things that already happened and things that haven’t even happened at all… basically the amount of time you spend in moments you can’t control, when there’s this really amazing thing called the present moment. Now, I know I sound like a smartass right now (but I mean, takes one to know one)… but seriously man. This present moment – it’s pretty amazing. You can choose to do whatever you want to do and to perceive what’s happening however you want to! This moment is all you ever have. So if you want to do better, take advantage of right now and DO BETTER! It really is that simple.

And hell, if you’re going to spend some time outside of the present – and you are, because you’re human and that’s what you do… maybe spend a little more time on the right moments. Like that time that you crushed that presentation in Biology about “the Study of Laughter” and you had the whole class laughing until they cried. Or how about that time in your first track meet when you ran the fastest mile you ever had in your life? Or what about that time when Granny was in the hospital a month before she passed and you sat by her bedside and held her hand and she smiled at you?… I bet that’s one you’ll cherish forever. You were pretty present in that moment.

You’ve done some pretty amazing things. And you’ve experienced some pretty wonderful moments, so I would never tell you to not remember. What I want for you is simple… I want you to be happy. And I know that’s what you want too but I know it feels like there’s so much pressure on your shoulders, so much stress. And I know it feels like that “happiness” is unattainable for you. But here’s my most important challenge for you. I want you to think about all of that stress you’re used to lately – all of the fear, confusion, hurt, pain… think about all of that and ask yourself a simple question:

How much of that stress is caused from thinking about the past or imagining the future in a negative manner?

I want you to really think about that, because I’m willing to bet that the answer to that question is almost all of it. Are you starting to see what I’m getting at? If you want to be happy, work towards spending a lot less time in your head and all this mythical stuff that you can’t control. Open your eyes, Jess – you are capable of SO much! Discover that! Now, I’m not telling you to slack off in school or in anything really. I’m simply telling you to take advantage of right now, and make tomorrow however you want it to look. When it comes to the future, I’m not telling you to avoid that either. I’m telling you to DREAM! Who wants to dream about a sad future? Use your imagination to paint a future you want and, day by day, work to put it into action. Think about your short-term goals and get creative on ways to accomplish them. If they don’t pan out the way you want, guess what? You just learned something! And it isn’t the end of the world. I want you to take the word failure out of your vocabulary altogether, frankly. Failure isn’t a thing. There are merely lessons. It really is that simple. If you fall down, get up, and find a different option. Learn something.

You might not be in control of the external things that happen to you – but you are the ONLY one in control with how you choose to respond to them. It’s entirely up to you. I just simply want you to see that you are not a reflection of these fabrications you build in your head. And you can fight them away. You just have to make a conscious effort.

Oh and one more thing before I go… you are beautiful. I know this ones going to be a little tougher to get through to you right now, and that’s ok – you’ll see it one day. I promise. The biggest advice I can give you here is to simply stop comparing yourself to other people. It’s such a waste of time. You are the only you that exists in the world. That’s a beautiful truth – embrace it! If there are aspects you want to improve about yourself, work towards it! Day by day! Each and every one of us has areas of improvement and that’s the beauty of this life – there are no limits!

I know all of this may be a lot for you to take in, and it may not all make sense right now. But I promise you, one day it will. One day you are going to look in the mirror and smile at the girl looking back at you… because that girl is happy. That girl knows her worth. That girl will never stop striving for greater things in this world or lose her sight for the beauty that exists – especially the beauty that exists in her scars. You’ll look back on this time of your life, smiling in triumph at the fact that you kept fighting and pushing forward even when you wanted to give up.

You are making a difference, and you deserve to be happy. And you will be.

Sincerely,

You at 24 years old”