Jaime,

You're just beginning high school, that's a huge step for you. You were excited to begin a new journey with new friends and challenging academics. There's a few things you should know from your future self, things that I have learned and wish you could know, too.

1. The first "love of your life" is extremely immature and manipulative. Leave as soon as you get that bad gut feeling.

2. The friends you make, initially, will not all be there on graduation night. Some will stab you in the back, betray you in ways that you'll resent, but you'll get through it. The lesson these friendships will teach you are going to last a lifetime- trust me!

3. Why are you so stressed? You're crying over biology homework (yes, this definitely has something to do with the fact that your future self is in school to be a lawyer) that won't even matter a year from now. Have more confidence in your academic abilities- you have always defined yourself by it, and your character shines through.

4.Cherish your family. When you go to college you're going to be missing the things you didn't even notice before like your mom occasionally doing your laundry without asking, your dad being persistently light-hearted when he knows your down, your nana making homemade meals every Monday, and knowing you'll see them all at the end of the day. You'll start to realize you are where you are in life solely because of how you were raised and how you were shown to embrace life.

5. Whatever may be going on in your life right now, it will pass- that is the only definite thing in life. Please don't spend more than five minutes on something that wouldn't even matter to you next week. A big part of your character is shown through the way you choose to interact with the world, not how the world chooses to view you. Keep your head high and know you will always be on to bigger and better things in life. Don't forget to admit when you're wrong more often (we're still trying to work on that on my end).

6. Don't forget to have fun (duh).

I want these to be guidelines for you as you navigate through high-school. It will impose seemingly tough challenges, and you will always rise to the occasion. Even when you do miss the mark, just get back up and dust yourself off as if nothing happened. You have so many people that love you and are cheering for you on the sidelines, I know it's easy to forget that sometimes. Above anything else, just be yourself. Authenticity goes a long way in this world, and it's something that's valued more and more the older you get.

Your Future Self