First of all, I want you to know how proud I am of you. High school was not as easy as your elders led you to think. The school work, relationships, and situations you go through can eat you alive if you are not careful. “Balance is key,” that’s what you’ll be told. If you learn how to balance everything in life this young, please write a book and send me a copy. You did it! You have accomplished something I never wanted to picture you doing, but I knew was inevitable.

Honestly, you growing up shouldn’t be a thing.

Even though you have been taller than me since you hit 12, I still see you as a little kid. You know how you get mad when adults treat you like a little kid? I didn’t understand why until this year. You have been my little mini me for 17 years, and this is a little surreal for me. You were who I got to blame for 90 percent of what I did. That I still got in trouble for anyway. I could fight with you all day long, as long as no one else did. I was made to protect you so if you were hurt, I would hurt with you. If you got injured, I had Band-Aids ready. Well, as long as I wasn’t the cause of the injury. Now that you are graduating, you are getting harder to protect. So don’t be surprised if your graduation present is a bubble.

Things are going to change.

I won’t lie to you and say college is going to be a piece of cake. You’ll cry over leaving your friends. People you never thought you would stop talking to, little by little, you do. Over no fault of yours, life just gets extremely busy. You’ll cry over being broke and deciding whether to keep your kidney or buy that biology book. You’ll cry over being overwhelmed. They aren’t all bad, though. You’ll make new friends in college that are going to be there through it all. It’s where you meet once in a lifetime people that relate to you. It’s where you’ll discover yourself outside of the mold you were made to fit into in high school. You have freedom to do what you want. Take advantage of all the social groups and clubs that you can. You’ll learn things and have opportunities that you would never imagine.

I hope you know.

Whenever you are going through the craziness of young adulthood, I’m here struggling too. I will be here to rant to about that test that fried your brain or that teacher that just can’t get the point across. When you make your first bad grade and want to quit, I’ll be here! I’ll be the person that sends you memes all day when it’s finals week and you need a break. The good thing about this is that I’ve been through it. You will never be alone.

So now that I have clarified that this is really happening, I have just a little more advice to tell you.

Make memories, take pictures, and stay out too late. This is your senior year and it will go by way too fast. You say you can’t wait to grow up, but just wait. Cherish this year, it’s one that you have to leave your mark on this town. Graduation will come soon enough, and I assure you I will be there with tissues and my emotions.

Oh and one more thing, I love you, forever and always.