Hey you,

I bet you're pretty stressed right now about something. It might be college or test scores or grades or the clubs you're in charge of. I know you're stressed, and that's OK and good because it means you're doing something worthwhile, but as the older, wiser version of you I've got a bit of advice for you.

1. Please get off of that ridiculous prom diet.

Girl, you need to eat real food, not just salad and vegetables. Also, in a couple months, you're going to be far away from penne alla vodka, so now is the time to stock up!

Plus, you look fine. You look great, even. Stop putting pressure on yourself to look a certain way. It won't make you happier -- it'll just make you hangry. If you want to be healthy, get into a good exercise regimen, don't count carbs and calories.

2. Naps are OK in moderation, but six hours of slumber is a sleep, not a nap.

Honestly, I have no idea how you are able to wake up at 6 a.m. everyday, and I will always argue that that is completely inhumane, but you are wasting your life away when all you do is sleep. There are so many fun things to do at home, so many fun places to go to, but you're going to miss them because you sleep waaaay too much.

3. Spend as much time as possible with your parents.

Go to dinner with them, watch TV with them because in a very short time, you're not going to be able to see them as much, and you are going to miss them a lot (and they're going to miss you too).

4. Stop saying you aren't going to study music in college. You're going to study music in college.

Why do you think it is a good idea to just stop doing the thing that brings you the most joy in your life? Music has always brought you happiness, community, and family, so why do you think you would be happy without it?

5. Nothing is as important as it seems.

It's OK that you got a B on that test.

It's OK if you cannot keep your eyes open long enough to finish that assignment.

So what you didn't get a 2400 on your SAT?

Two years from now, you won't even remember with SAT subject tests you took, much less the grades you got on them.

No matter how important things seem now, chances are they are the little things, and they are not worth your tears or that late-night freak out. No matter how dire these things seem, the sun is going to rise tomorrow, and everything will be okay.

6. You would not be happy at the school you would do anything to get into.

Trust me, I know you think you will only be happy if you get into that one school or an Ivy, but you were never that person who was obsessed with names or stats or stature, and you are going to do great things at the right place for you. You cannot even conceive of how happy you are going to be in college, how many amazing friends you are going to make and how much you are going to adore your school.

Stop being so hung up on a place that doesn't want you because the fact is they don't want you for a reason, and that is because you just aren't a good fit, and no matter what you do (and I know you would sell your soul), that just isn't going to change.

And that is okay because if you had gotten into your so-called "dream school", you wouldn't have gone to your actual dream school.

7. Everything will work out in the end.

Love,

You