To my High School self,

Soon you will walk into an unknown, four-walled building for the first time with new faces; knowing new experiences are just around the corner. Three weeks prior, you will sit in a memorial service with friends and family around you, grieving the loss of a close friend. You will feel weak, inferior to the rest of the world along with your own capabilities. But I am here to tell you that you are stronger than you know and think. I know that broken heart feels like it will never mend, but I can promise you it will. You will know what pain feels like, but will appreciate joy even more than before. You will learn the importance of dancing in the rain; life is too short to wait for the storm to pass. Also, please also know that crying is okay. It will not prove that you are weak; rather that you are human, that you have a heart.

August 2015, two years later, you will lose another peer to a fatal car crash. Not only will this teach you that your life is more valuable than a text to send, but also that life is temporary and never certain or promised. Also, as you get older, call grandpa and grandma more than you do. Because when May 2016 approaches, and you get the call that grandpa is in the ICU on life support, you will wish you had. I know you continue to count the years you have, but please know that the people you love are also not getting any younger. At Thanksgiving dinner, put down your phone. Enjoy the company around you. It cannot be promised that next year will be the same. Do not take for granted the conversations, memories and love that you share. You will quickly learn that relationships will always be the most valuable and important thing for you in life. Do not ever abuse them.

As senior year comes around, and the idea of leaving all your friends in just a few short months fills your thoughts, know that this is time you cannot rush. College will be there when the time comes. But for now, enjoy the late night runs to McDonalds, the Friday night football games and staying up all night with your best friends, laughing till your stomach aches. Because, as much as you will love college and everything that comes with it, you will miss those times. And wish so badly to relive those moments again, even for just a second.

Also, I know the process and stress that comes with applying to college is tiring, but remember that education is a privilege. As I sit here writing this, I have two red bulls on my desk, 6 hours of sleep in my system and am wearing the same clothes from yesterday. Although I am exhausted and my hair is falling out from the stress of finals, I am blessed. Blessed that I, as a female of this world, get to experience an education that so many others would die to have. Education is a privilege. Remember that your education is not as much for you as it is the ones you will help with it. As you soon experience these same sleepless nights, discouragement and stress that college can so often bring with it, never let your education, major and career be for yourself. Education gives you opportunities to change this world; so go out there and do it. Take hard classes, join more clubs and push yourself. Never overlook the wisdom and knowledge you can have.

Lastly, never forget that love is a verb. That those same people you have known since the first grade, who still walk the same halls as you, need love. Do not forget to live the action of love. I know sometimes it may seem easier to love someone on the other side of the world, than that girl who started a rumor about you to the entire school. But I hope you never fall short in reminding yourself that love truly is the most powerful weapon you could ever have. If you allow it to fill each aspect of your life, you will surely move mountains. As you go to your high school reunion ten years from now, I can promise you no one will remember the clothes you wore, the awful grade on that AP Bio test you received, but instead the love you gave. The respect you showed to your peers, the light you radiated throughout the halls of your school. Be that light, outshine the darkness that High School can bring. Make your mark on those halls, because some day, you will surely miss everything that those four years bring.

Sincerely,

Your older and wiser self.