Dear 16-year-old me,

This letter may take you by surprise but yes it’s me, or should I say you? If you're reading this you are just about to graduate high school and your life is about to fly by. Don’t worry life is ok, you are healthy to my knowing and a junior in college. I decided to write you this letter because this year has been hard for you.

You’re 20 years old, living on your own in a beautiful apartment in Greenville, North Carolina. Yes, Greenville you choose East Carolina University and not any of those other colleges that sent you acceptance letters.

You need to brace yourself because you will make some questionable choices and see a ton of heartbreak through your teen years into your twenties. Your life is not the fairy tale you envisioned when you were eight-years-old. In fact, it is a nightmare at times. The year 2017 you will welcome a beautiful niece and lose your grandfather to cancer.

Yes, you read it right, the big C. Cancer and a new baby will be the two big surprising events that will bring your family together. Cancer, unlike any other disease your family will face, will be the one that hurts the most. Your grandmother suddenly died in 2015, and her husband soon followed.

Did your heart just drop when you figured out which set of grandparents I am mentioning? That's ok, breathe. You got this. It was hard but somehow you got through it. You need to change your perspectives though. Call your grandparents more. Stay connected with friends, especially work friends. You will also lose someone so special to you in a month or so. But again you'll get through it, death will soon become something you will become numb to.

I am not writing this letter to cause you pain but to ensure you that bad things will happen in your life. But life will not always be bad for you. You will find love, joy, new friends, and new family members. You remained on Dean’s list your entire time of college, you’ve met new friends and peers, and discovered artistic hidden talents you have never noticed. You will start designing and taking further steps into photography.

Lastly, little me, you have so much to offer you just have to take more chances in life. Similar to other people in college you sometimes watch opportunities past you by without taking full advantage of them. Change that! Step outside your comfort zone and definitely apply to ECU newspaper design freshman year! Keep believing in your dream. You will make it.

Much love,

An older you.