A Letter to My 16 Year Old Self

Dear Kimmie (16 year old self),

It has taken me a while to write this because I wanted to provide sage wisdom while being poetic and insightful. But I realised I don't need that. I just need to tell you what I have learned.

At sixteen you think that reading, writing, tumblr and other miscellaneous things are the most important things in the world. They aren't. As important as all that stuff seems right now it is almost worthless in the long run. What is truly important is to find the people who are going to stick by you. Get better at interacting with them, build your friendships and don't be afraid to let them in. Build relationships that will last who people that matter.

At sixteen you are old beyond your years, you spend your days often depressed, worrying about money, the house, and if everything will be ok. Worrying about college, a job and where your life will go and if your life is actually worth anything. Often times the world feels like it is ending. I remember the pain, the sadness, the suicidal thoughts and the self harm. Remember feeling like moving from day to day was pointless because I was just empty. Even though you are young regrets and idiodic mistakes haunt you. Take those mistakes in stride, acccept that you can't change them but you can learn and grow from them. Remember that your life is worth something, whether or not it feels like it. Never forget that you matter!

I know things are really difficult right now. You are struggling with problems at home, with bullying, with depression, with lack of friends.

But I wanted to let you know that it will all be ok. There will be a lot of struggles and hard times, friends will come and go and people are going to be cruel. But you are strong and will get through it all. I promise. Just have faith in yourself. Have faith that the situations you are going through will prove to make you a stronger person. Overcoming the challenges that you face will make you the person you are to become. The scars of the past will help to build your drive and resolve.

Always remember that you don't have to change yourself for anyone! And you don't have to act a certain way just because you think that is what will make people like you. Never be afraid to be who you truly are, screw everyone else.

Also, never let anyone get to you who tries to tear you down. Use it as fuel, motivation, drive. Work your ass off to make a life worth living because you deserve to be proud of the life you live, not resent it. You are a dedicated and motivated worker and you know that life will be better, you just have to work to make it that way.

If I could go back to be you there are so many changes I would make to change the regrets that I hold now. I regret not getting closer to my friends and making my time with them count, regret never letting people in and always being left behind, I regret being so desperate for love and attention I let myself be manipulated, controlled and used. But the brightside is that you will live through the next 3 years even though it doesn't feel like it right now, your relationship with dad will get better and you will become stronger.

If you take away anything from this letter, remember and know that that you can survive. You are stronger than you think and you are an amazing and kind person despite what that nagging voice in your head tells you.

Love from,

Kim (18, almost 19, years young.)

(For all those reading is part two to the post I did on Wednesday. Click here to read.)

Dear College Applicants...

Dear College Applicants,

To my eager college hopefuls, I wanted to give you a few tips for this time of year. By now all your college applications should be turned in, you have sat through the waiting process and by now you have probably already received some acceptances (which I congratulate you on!) and, unfortunately, some rejections.

So what should you be doing right now?

For one, if you have not already completed your FAFSA then get on that RIGHT NOW! This is not something you should wait on! This is free money we are talking about being given to you to pay for your education. College is expensive but you should never have to pay the sticker price. OR, if you are like me and going to a community, you can even wind up getting paid to go to school if you are awesome enough!

Step two: now that you have started getting your decision letters in you should start narrowing down your list of possibles. Go through every factor: campus, class sizes, location, price, EVERYTHING! In the end you can only choose one and you have to start thinning the herd so that you can make that inevitable final decision. Trust me, it is a difficult one because it is a huge decision but, at the risk of sounding cliche, go with your heart and what feels right to you. It is your life and you shouldn't let someone else decide for you...but that is a lecture for another time haha.

Looking back on this time last year all I can say is that I do not envy you. It is a scary time, looking forward to the dread of realizing that you are an adult now and have to act like it. Scholarships, financial aid, and stepping out on your own are all scary steps that we each must eventually take. I know feel like a bit of a contradiction. As the end of my freshman year is rapidly I feel like nothing much has really changed: I'm back at home, I still feel that I am inadequate at being an adult and scared of all the dread that come with it. But at the same time, everything has changed, I have a job and support myself, I have a car payment, go to school and have adult responsibilities.

Life is changing for you guys and all I can say is whether you are prepared or not it will happen. So whether you choose to go near or far it will be hard but it will work out in the end.

Good luck,
Kim

Dear High School Seniors..

Dear High School Seniors,

          Here are a couple of tips and tricks about surviving your senior year and the college application process. Tip number one: always remember to get stuff done ON TIME! I know its common place to wait to the last minute to get stuff done, but all this does is increase the stress on you and make your life unnecessarily more difficult. Especially when it comes down to college and scholarship deadlines YOU CANNOT PROCRASTINATE!!! Take it from someone who suffers from procrastination, colleges will not accept late applications and neither will scholarship boards. Plus, it makes you look sloppy and lazy!

          To go along with this, get a planner and in general GET ORGANIZED. Start writing everything down and set deadlines for yourself. This will help you get organized and you can avoid falling behind. Do some research on study and organization skills. Developing important organizational skills will set you leagues ahead in college if you start now! Remember to prioritize and keep everything orderly, I don't know anyone who can be organized when they are surrounded by piles of clutter. Here is a link to a powerpoint on organization put out by my school: click here! I have tried several organization methods in the past and I like this one the best because of its simplicity, but if the more complex ones work for you then have at it!

          Number three: utilize your english teacher. I can't tell you how many times I went to my English teacher and asked him to read over my application essays, and numerous times he saved my essays from being utter disasters! Ask your teachers to help you, that is what they are there for! Also, when it comes to writing application essays: often times you will come across a lot of the same questions each worded differently. So if you write a couple generic essays then you can spend a few minutes tweaking it to fit the specific essay rather than a half hour completely re-writing.

          Always remember, take a deep breath and remember why you are working so hard. Is it because you want to make something out of your life? Achieve a goal? Make yourself and those around you proud? Or is it 'All of the above'? Never give up. It will all be worth it in the end.

Sincerely,

Someone who has been in your shoes!