Dear Me

Dear Me at 15:

You might feel like the world is screwed up, that life is unfair and that you deserve more. You are right. The world is screwed up and no, life isn't fair. You deserve more but you need to work for it. It's not supposed to be handed to you on a silver platter, you are supposed to want it badly enough to be willing to use sweat and tears to get it. That boy that doesn't treat you well... He does NOT deserve you. Wait for the guy who will love you and respect you. It's not as long a wait as you think. One day, the right guy will walk into your life and pursue you, study you, learn about you, not because he wants something from you but because he loves what he sees in you and wants to get to know you better. That boy that everyone thinks is so popular now, the one that all the girls are fighting for, the guy that treats girls like nothing because he can have any one of them... that guy is not worth your angst. The guy in the corner, the one that you don't notice everyday, the one who works hard, he's the one that will be worth your time in getting to know. If you get hurt, bounce back. It's not as bad as you think right now. Bigger struggles face you in the future and if you learn now how to bounce back you will be learning the greatest lesson there is for your tomorrows. Those parents, who make 'stupid' rules, who give you a curfew, who make you clean your room before you go out, who want to spend family time with you, the same people who put up with your teenage throws of dramatic tears and angry outbursts are the same people who in the years to come will stand by you no matter what. They are the ones who will hold your hand when life throws a curve ball, they are the ones who will offer help when no one else will, they are the ones who will go anywhere, any distance, pay any cost, to get to where you are in your hour of need. They are the ones who will NEVER stop loving you. Remember that, and show them the love and respect THEY deserve.

Do not be afraid to fail. You can not succeed if you do not try. Life is series of lessons and sometimes you learn the most when you fail. 

Stop seeing life as something out to get you, start to see it as a beautiful chance to learn and grow. Stop seeing the world through a lens of what it owes you, and instead do your best to give to it, encourage those around you, offer help to those in need, love those around you the way that you want to be loved.

When it comes to choosing... choose well. Choose to laugh, A LOT, choose to smile when you want to frown, choose to hope when you want to give up, choose to fight when the time comes that it's necessary, choose your friends wisely, they will help you to become who you will one day turn out to be. Choose to believe in something bigger than yourself, and then, when you hit the rough patches you wil find you have given yourself a firm foundation.

Most importantly, enjoy who you are right now. You are strong, beautiful and worthy of being loved. Enjoy the catastrophes that you face today because in the years to come you will regret the wasted tears. Those things that seem so big now are drops in the bucket. Learn from them, and then dust yourself off and move on. Don't cling to the past, but enjoy the present, hope for the future and work hard not just at the things that will make you a success in the world, but at the things that will make you a treasure in heaven.

Stand apart, stand strong, you are loved... learn that. Learn early to love who you are and who you are becoming. Learn that your body is a shell, that to stress over the bumps or lumps is to put your worth and value in something that doesn't last. Instead, learn to love the YOU that you are. The person inside that shell. Enjoy her, get to know her well. She was created in God's own image and she's beautiful.

I love you,

L

(*I saw a facebook photo today that made me think of all the things I wished I could have had my older self tell my younger self, things that would have served me well in the years between 15 and now. So I decided to write some of them down to share with you.)