A Letter To My 16-Year Old Self

Dear 16-Year Old Elisabeth,

How excited you are to FINALLY be 16. Remember how Kim & Sarah decorated your room with streamers, balloons, and candy? And how they gave you a white rose on your pillow? Yeah. That was really cool.  So why did you stop being friends with them? Oh yeah, that's right, you wanted to be more popular.
And remember how you are completely obsessed with that tall, lanky, black-haired boy? Yeah. That was really dumb. Don't be obsessed. Being friends with him would have been so much better. But it's okay. Everybody does stupid things.
However, remember that one stupid thing you did? How you constantly yelled at your parents and you felt like your siblings were inferior to you? That....that wasn't okay. You need to be nicer to them because honestly, they're the people that matter the most.

(my little sister & I)

They're the people who will be there when you're sitting in your apartment, bawling your eyes out because college isn't AT ALL like you wanted it to be. They'll be there. And guess who won't? Those other people you supposedly called friends.
But remember how much weight you lost?  Yeah. That was pretty cool.  Whatever possessed you to join the cross-country team, I will never know. But you did and running 3 miles every day from June to January changed you for the better. You can now call yourself a runner!

Don't be so eager to leave. Sugar City might be a small town, but it will end up meaning the world to you. It'll be your safe haven in a world of scary things. It'll help you stay connected to your little bubble of a world that only exists in Sugar City.

Be happy in the moment. Stop wasting away your life worrying about that boy who never texted you back. Become concerned with what people need instead of what you need. Just be happy. 
Love, 20-year old Elisabeth