An Open Letter to 16-Year-Old Me

Dear 16-year-old me,

I know you are really into those posts that say "THESE are the best years of my life?" but little do you know that when you become a part of the 20-somethings, you will remember this year over everything else.

When you move into your first apartment, you'll try to find space for things and end up putting boxes in random places before a guy comes over and one day when everything is going wrong your box of 'Junior year memories' will fall on you as you grab a sweatshirt to go smoke (yes, you still smoke Newport 100s).

While 16 seems tough, it actually did make you stronger in the future because things got worse.

But I have some advice for younger me and anyone that needs to hear solid evidence that it gets better.

First, your make up is terrible and you know it is not the best but in a few years you will have the whole "punk" eyeliner thing down. Don't worry you do get your nose ring and your first tattoo... or fourth before your 21st birthday.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way.

Don't put yourself down as you cry over your "first" leaving you when he left for college because years later you may have someone leave in the same way for a career but you know not to hold him back and to instead push yourself further and love you.

Remember to hug your grandparents, a lot. Laugh with them and bring them good memories.

When mom and dad start fighting everyday, hug them both a little bit more, hug mom when she yells and hug dad when he starts cleaning everything. There is anxiety and problems that you can't fix so stop trying to fix things you can't fix.

Oh, and when you drink Bacardi for the first time, drink some water, you imbecile.

When that guy at that party discourages you in a way no human should feel, don't let it define you or eat you up. You'll get your time to get back at him soon enough.

Go on those hikes whenever your friends offer, go to the beach, say yes to that dinner, say yes to prom, say yes to everything, honestly.

You don't know it but even when things were hard as you got older you could still think back to 16 because that was the last time things were normal, and that's okay. All good things have to come to an end.

In the span of the next few years, your friend group will scatter, you'll lose your mother, your dad will move, you'll live on your own after you lose your childhood home, you'll push away good friends and a good lover out of fear of abandonment.

You're going to mess up, learn and move on. It'll be okay.

Be 16, be you, be real. In a few years you'll be happy because you lived now.