"Dear Teenage Me..."

[Crustan]

We have all been there at that point in our lives, school crushes, friendships, fights, studies, laughter, sadness and figuring ourselves out, aka our teenage years!

So why not write our past selves a letter, let them know how we grew as people, maybe write us some sage advice we got later on in lives?

Basically, aim is to use this thread as a letter to our teenage selves to reflect on those younger years of our lives, and hopefully be proud in how we evolved into what we are today!

(This was inspired by a podcast I have been listening to called "Dear Teenage Me" and I felt why not :D)

 

[Crustan]

I'll start us off:

Dear Teenage me, you're 15 right now! Having a friend group in school you're happy to be with!

I just wish you were actually aware at the time of how you were being treated by them all along, as someone to insult and bully for a laugh without any complaints :(

I wish you knew how to stand for yourself earlier instead of being quiet about it, I wish you didnt let that kill your trust in any future friends you made

I'm in uni now, btw! And I know you'll be proud to hear that I made some good friends too :)

Also I wished you werent nervous of trying new things and enjoyed your younger years too

And most importantly, thank you, for always staying adamant to being respectful and kind to others

I know you dont love yourself, but trust me, I do.
And you will too ;) <3

 

[Sheep]

Dear teenage me:

Trust me, that breakup will not matter. You will find so much better. If I could go back in time I would try to make you cry about it less, and hopefully make the impact not as hard for as long as it was. Try to move on and do what makes you happy.

 

[Sydian]

dear teenage me,

there are two wolves inside of you. they are both gay.

 

[Lavender]

I'm currently a teen :P

 

[Crustan]

I'm currently a teen :P

No worries, you can still write to yourself as a pre-teen too! Point of this thread is self-reflection and you don't always need to reflect on teenage years to go, since that is an ongoing process throughout life!

 

[_confused_piplup_]

Dear teenage Piplup,

you shouldn't really do all those things that you don't want to do. You should be less lost in your thoughts and explore new things to find out what you really like. Don't act more mature trying to solve problems all by yourself. Accept that you're allowed to be confused and to have doubts. Be less lazy. Also, many of your plans won't be working lol.You'll improve on some things though : )

 

[Setsuna]

I just wanna say I love the idea for this thread. Thank you for making it! At the risk of embarrassing myself, I suppose if anyone else wants or needs to hear this...

Dear teenage me,

What you're going through absolutely matters. It's okay and natural to feel upset or frustrated if something bad happens. That's okay, that's a part of life and it's not the end of the world if something bothers you. Remember what you stand for. Respect and push your own beliefs and stand up for yourself. It's way better to have a slight disagreement than just get pushed around.

There are people in your life who you know aren't worth your time and denying that instead of being with the people who are isn't the best idea. I know this stuff is gonna happen to you and it's gonna be rough, but as you start to recover from that you're going to need to keep that in mind. You're going to find good people in your life that you can keep for years and you'll feel a lot more loved by them instead of trying to be loved by who you have now. I wish they were more honest with you.

I support you with my entire heart and I know taking the initiative and moving forward is something you're gonna be scared of, you're gonna send DMs to people that are gonna make you panic and turn off your phone and worry but please, please keep connecting with people and give them the compliments you want to! It's going to make you happy. Please continue to try being as social as you can, because not only will it enrich your life, but dear god I could use some of that confidence right now. Do me a solid?

Your passions are worth your time. People will tell you it's clear how much you love the things you talk about and you should open your heart and believe them. It's better to like a bunch of things and have an interesting life than pretend to be a boring person. It'll help you get your feelings out there, make something you're proud of, and connect with people.

And last but not least, you're worthy of love and people will love you. Despite what you think, or worry about, that dream will come true. Just please, not with him. There's someone way better and you know it. While you're still gonna end up with that better person, just... stop giving him your attention, it's not gonna go anywhere.

Keep your head up. It'll be really tough, it'll be scary, but you're already telling yourself that as long as you're still standing you're still winning, and I'm still telling myself that too. I wish you so much love and so much luck. See you soon. 🤍

 

[Fleurdelis]

Dear Teenage me...

Life is garbage, it will get worse, you will eventually be near breaking point. But no matter what, and trust me when I say this, thou shalt soar free in the skies in the end. Your suffering will end.

Oh and also you will become addicted to mechanical birds, just a fair warning.

 

[Corrin]

Dear Teenage me

It gets worse, please prepare mentally and physically for what's to come (If for my sake). I haven't yet lost hope, so keep going. Also, don't try to please everyone! You can't, just be respectful and kind.

 

[Roni]

dear teenage me,

spend more time with mom. smile for her pictures. sing for her. hug and kiss her everyday. tell her you love her everyday. you're gonna wish you did all these when you're older. take advantage of what little time you have left with her.

aside from that, try be a little less edgy, stop putting your crushes on a pedestal, research what ADHD is, and invest whatever spare change you have on bitcoin. don't ask questions just do it.

i love you. you fucking idiot.

 

[Orion☆]

Dear teenage me,

I know you're not gonna listen to me, otherwise I wouldn't be where I am right now - but please, be a little more mindful of who you spend your time with. Some people you talk to almost every day are headed down a dark path, if they are not in it already. And yes, this goes for both online and real-life friends. You will definitely come out a better person for leaving them and their views behind, but you're gonna end up regretting all that time you invested in them. It would be better if you learned to appreciate spending time with yourself instead of keeping bad company around out of desperate loneliness.

Keep Mum in your thoughts too. She might seem harsh, but in truth she's just as scared as you are. She will get better, I promise - and so will you.

Look out for a little surprise around your 17th birthday as well. I can't tell you what it is right now, but it will definitely pay off in the long run. Cherish that. You will have another after your 21st birthday, but that's a long way ahead.

I'm cheering for you. I was gonna say "ya boy is cheering for you," but you're only starting to suspect that, aren't you? Buckle up, 'cause that's gonna be a long ride.

 

[Tsutarja]

dear teenage me

get off the fucking computer and study and read. you're in ap classes and you won't get scholarships nor be regarded higher if you keep procrastinating

 

[Harmonie]

Dear teenage me,

Lots of things to say here!

It's a stereotypical phrase now but "it will get better". You will find a friend that you will come out to in a short number of years! Also, your mom and dad will turn around in the future. The capability for them to understand is in them. Stand up for yourself, they can understand and we can make all of these years in between much better!

Also, um... Perhaps be careful with that friend that is the first you come out to. If it comes to a relationship, that's fine. But if it ends, then let it go. Treasure the friendship more, because the friendship is such a big deal. You will know that as I knew it at the time as well, but need to be even more careful than I was.

Take care of yourself. I know you hate everything right now. It's puberty doing this to you. When you experience any health issue, you must always face it. Everything will be okay, I promise. Getting scared and going into denial is a terrible thing, it will cost you a lot, perhaps even being with the one you love. Push forward, always. Oh, and in 2018 the problems in your feet are not plantar fasciitis, they are arthritis. Get tested. You will thank me.

Hard advice ahead: I am not very talented at music, there is a threshold that can never be crossed no matter how much you practice. This is the sad truth. It's important to understand this, because you might want to think of something else for college. This is not to say that continuing playing in ensembles is wrong, or that maybe majoring in Music History might work out. Either way, whatever is chosen, do it, get through it and get a career. I don't want to scare you, but there will come a day where the USA is taken over by a really, really bad man. Even worse than George W Bush. Far worse, in fact. He will have a lot of power, and he and his party will come after human rights hard. You need to get going forward with a well-paying career, because you will not be able to stay in Oklahoma. It will be on the wrong side and will take away these human rights. Build up your career, and move to New England! (maybe not New Hampshire, any of the other NE states are great). Actually, make sure you have the means to leave the country, as well, because in my time the nation is unstable.

Maybe don't move until after 2015 ends, though, because you're going to meet two amazing people around then.

Oh more generally: I know that puberty is driving your hormones crazy, but... Maybe try not to be so rotten to others, maybe stop with all of the drama. I know, drama is fun. But being rotten to people is not great. That includes band directors!

And um... be careful, be very careful around boys in your junior English class. Stay far away from them at all times. Never be alone around them. This is a topic that I don't want to go into detail about, but if anything inappropriate happens, report it!