A Letter To My Dumb Teenage Self

This post was written in response to the Cafemom Writing Challenge



Hey. Yeah, you. Shy girl. With the long hair and bangs and those skinny, stick legs.

It's not the end of the world. He never really, truly loved you or he would never have broken up with you before the prom and graduation and he never would have found someone else quite that fast.

You think you love him, but you don't really know what love is yet. You won't find out for a few more years until you meet a guy who makes you laugh so hard you almost pee your pants and gives you two children you both adore.

You'll go away to college soon. Don't worry so much about the dating and the boys. You are just trying to replace him and find someone who will love you. Calm down. It will happen. Enjoy your women friends and keep them close. You will still be friends with some of them many, many years later.

Wax your eyebrows. Believe me. They will look so much better.

After you let those bangs grow out, don't cut them and roll them and spray them and boof them up. Don't.

Don't wear those hot pants. They don't really look good on anyone. Honest.

Don't get that credit card for the store at the mall when they offer it. You'll be paying on that sucker for years.

Don't date that guy with a motorcycle. You will hit a dog one night while on the motorcycle with him and could easily die. And he's kind of a jerk anyway.

Don't lose your virginity to that other guy. He's kind of a jerk too.

And, for God's sake, don't sleep with that guy you have a crush on. He has a girl back home and he's using you.

In fact, you might as well save it for the now-and-forever guy. He deserves it the most anyway.

Go to college with no regrets. Don't look back. The high school boyfriend is not worth agonizing over. Enjoy your life. Enjoy every single day. It only gets better.

I promise.