Dear Teenage Self,

      I have been thinking about you lately. I wish I could've told you how wonderful life will be one day when you grow up. Sure you will go threw some rough patches but, you will be a better person in the end......and yes, you will be happy.

    I saw some friends of yours the other day online. "Online" what the heck is that? It would take too long to explain it but, it is a pretty neat example of what your generation will do. As I was saying, your friends have grown up too. Oh, and you won't believe who is a Student Body Counselor! I bet she never would've dreamed it herself 30 years ago....I'm happy for her. She really had a rough start and managed to make the best of it. Life is amazing!

    Many of us got together for our 20 year class reunion a few years back. I know ...I know.... your thinking 20 years! I can't wait to get out of here now! Why would I ever go back to some cheesy reunion!  Please... listen to me for a while though. Our 20 year reunion...it actually was pretty great! Your dearest friends showed up, it was like time had stopped and you were never apart at all.  You were just as close to some of them as you ever were. You also realized how wonderful it was to have shared some of your childhood with them and others who along the way were distant as teenagers but, guess what...? Turns out they missed you too. Seeing them again made you realize even more how blessed you are.

  You even witnessed some amazing things happen while you were there.  People who had made really dumb choices back then managed to turn their lives around. Oh, and you were one of them .... so, don't be so rough on yourself. It really does get better.

   I'm not saying you should make stupid choices....that's right...I said "choices". You know right from wrong ... you know what you "should" do. You won't always choose the right path but, trust me...nobody does. Quite honestly, the ones who seem to do the "right" thing all the time actually miss out on some of the really good stuff!
 
  You get to a point where you REALLY choose the hardest path for a long time.....but, like most things in life...if you don't give up and you listen to that little voice inside, you will be amazed at what you become. Even the "mistakes" turn out to be beautiful miracles of life.....because YOU have the uncanny ability to make the best of it.

  Don't listen to those that say you are a bad person and making bad "mistakes". Turns out listening to "those" people are the biggest "mistakes" ever. Remember this....age doesn't always make someone right or worthy of your trust for that matter...also, just because they are older or a person of authority doesn't mean they know what the truth is.

  You don't become an alcoholic, a druggie, a dope head. You don't become some illicit worthless being. You aren't those things now and never will be. "Those" people are judging you on their ideas of who they think  you are or what your family members are doing. Don't listen to them. You are a great kid!

 That Vice Principal who in your freshman year tells you how wonderful you were ... then in your junior year calls you into the office and says," You are a druggie and a whore like your mother. I bet you don't remember even where you slept last night". You have my permission to think about kicking him in his juevos....but, he's not worth it. So, don't do it. He has NO CLUE that you were actually sleeping on the roof top of the elementary school across from your house, in the freezing cold,  in the air condition storage room because your parents were fighting all night long and you just wanted to sleep somewhere you felt safe, so you could go to school the next day and be a "normal" kid.

   Just remember he is wrong about you.
   You are not your mother. He has absolutely know idea who your mother really is either.
   You are a great kid!

  I don't want to tell you too much....that might change things drastically and spoil it all. Just know this....be nice to others....even the ones who aren't the "cool" kids. You are more like them then you realize.

  There's going to be a day in the cafeteria where you start a food fight.....see, I do know you. Try your best not to hit the little "fat" girl. I know....your a good kid and wouldn't pick on someone because they were fat...but, she doesn't know that. Turns out even though you think she's one of the "cool" kids she really is taking this teenage stuff pretty hard. If it turns out you can't help it and do it anyway it's okay, you'll have an opportunity one day to say your sorry...so, make sure you do....you actually change her life a little because of it.

  Also, the really skinny guy who hangs out with the really big guy .... you know....the ones that stick together because they don't "fit" in. Continue to be nice to them no matter what anyone else says about it.....you have a lot in common with them too.

 Oh, and if you can...spend some more time with PauPau and Dee Dee. They don't live forever...none of us do. Your parents will work things out for themselves with or without you so try to stay out of it and let it go.

  That dream you have of being an artist or an architect.....keep trying. Trust me, just because you don't "get what you want," doesn't mean great things and happiness won't be the end result.

  Never stop trying to find love.....you really do find it in many different forms ....Oh, and try not to smoke. Trust me...smoking IS your worst "mistake".

See you in 44 years and, I LOVE YOU!