To the fourteen-year-old me,

It seems very surreal writing this letter to you. It feels like just yesterday I was you, but somehow I'm nineteen now. A lot has changed in those five years, and when I say a lot I mean you probably won't believe me.

To start off with, you've accomplished so much more than we ever imagined. You're only in eighth grade right now, but we're actually almost done freshman year of college. Through out high school you'll become a leader in JROTC (Which is weird, right? You probably don't even know you want to join yet). You managed the field hockey team for three years. You were accepted to be a peer transition leader. You were inducted into the National Honor Society junior year. Then senior year, you were accepted to all ten colleges you applied to and are now a Criminal Justice and Psychology double major at the University of New Haven.

We actually figured out what we wanna do, awesome right? You're in a sorority now, and I'm sure I know what you're thinking. Us? In a sorority? Trust me, I wouldn't have pictured it either but Alpha Sigma Alpha is so much greater than we could have pictured; you finally found a home away from home and don't have to be an only child anymore. You participated in a regional conference for ACJA. And fingers crossed, we'll be accepted into the Honors Program soon. Now all this sounded a little boastful but, I'm so proud of us.

You are not even close to being the same person you are now, and that's a good thing. We've had a lot of rough times the past couple years, but without everything you'll go through, you wouldn't end up where we are now. So, let's get to the not so good stuff.

One of the biggest things is that we experienced loss of all kinds. Mom-Mom died when we were fifteen and that changed everything. It taught me that life really is temporary and we should treasure every moment we have with the people we love. Give her a hug for me. Our childhood pet cat died last year. It was a really rough time and is still hard to deal with, but now we have two other cats who have added a lot of light to our family. While not as dramatic as the other two, and I'm so sorry to break this to you, but we now have Celiac Disease and can no longer eat gluten. It's okay, I didn't know what gluten was either. So please go eat some chinese food for me. Lastly, all your friends completely changed. The person you're best friends with now won't be your best friend past this year. And the best friend after that won't be around now either. It took a lot of finding yourself and understanding your self worth, but you made the right decision by parting ways. But don't worry, you have amazing friends (and sisters!) now.

I want you to just remember that everything that happens is meant to be. It will all work out in the end. That bad grade, that breakup, the self-wallowing teen angst won't hurt forever. You're exactly where you're supposed to be, so keep doing what you're doing. I'll be rooting for you.

Love,

The nineteen-year-old you