Letter to myself at 16

Image: Mariam via Flickr

Dear 16-year-old me,

I know that you are full of questions. About life, about love, and about your future. I’m writing to you to tell you everything will be ok. You are going to lead a life worth living, and all the things you worry about now are going to fade away. There will be new worries, and definitely new challenges, but I repeat: You are going to be ok.

• Your skin will clear up! I’m not saying it will be perfect, you will still suffer breakouts well into your thirties, but it won’t consume you as it does now, and people will not judge you for it.
• Your boobs will get bigger, and then bigger still, and then saggy. Enjoy them while you can!
• You will still think about your weight, and you will still envy the bodies of all the models and actresses you see. I’m sorry about that. It doesn’t really go away, but you will go through a stage in your thirties where you will feel so confident and comfortable in your skin.
• You are going to have a career. You are going to love your job, but there will still be days when you can’t wait to get home. There will still be days when you would rather be anywhere else. But, you will have a career!
• You are going to be a mother. You are going to give birth to two energetic little boys, and they are going to challenge you in ways you never expected: to be a good mother, to think before you speak, to play, to breathe and enjoy the moment, and to put down the damn phone (yes, there are going to be phones you can take with you everywhere, and they are going to consume a lot of your time!) They are going to fill your days and nights and you are going to love them more than you ever thought it was possible to love.
• Speaking of love, you will find it. It will be a rocky road, and you will have many moments of loneliness and envy and sadness. You will be older than you hoped when you find him, but he is worth the wait. He will love you back and you will wonder to yourself everyday what he sees in you. But he just sees you, in all your imperfection, and loves you for it. It will be an amazing feeling and you will feel blessed.

So take a breath, ignore all the mean girls, and the rude boys, and just breathe. You will make it through the teenage years, and you will never look back.