Dear 13,
The next 12 years are going to be hard, challenging and beautiful. I want to prepare you for what is to come, without taking away from the experiences you are guaranteed to have. I want to offer you some words of wisdom that you will take to heart, that you hold dearly and you will attempt to live by. I want to protect you from being hurt and prevent you from hurting others.
My hope for you, is that you will be nothing less than confident in your personal appearance and attributes. But take caution, the greatest confidence is that which builds not only the self up, but those who come in contact with it. What I'm trying to say is; love who you are, be confident but 13, don't do it at the cost of others. They too need to be confident in their beauty and character.
Don't worry about fashion trends and fads. You have style. Style that's all your own! Live it up! Wear the oversized earrings, leggings and you can even tease your bangs if you want to. If you love the way it makes you look, that's all that matters. (Not to mention, I can confidently tell you it will all eventually be fashionable again).
Don't date. Non of the men your interested in for the next 12 years are worth the heartache that will follow. You can say no. Enjoy your girlfriends, you'll have the opportunity to know some of the world's most beautiful souls. Don't let the opportunity to know them deeply pass you by.
This next bit will be a little harder for you to hear and for me to write. You have no understanding of this, you have no idea that you do this to yourself, but 13, stop playing dumb. You are an incredibly intelligent young lady and you have some thoughts that are beautiful, poetic and encouraging. Embrace the intelligence that is rightfully yours, don't fear being isolated or rejected; those who love you at 25 will love you for the truth and depth of who you are. I promise. I know them. Because I am your 25.
The next 12 years will be challenging. I can't change that for you. Honestly, even if you listen to this advice, it's too late. Twelve years have passed. And even though you didn't live out all these words of advice I've offered, you've still grown to be a beautiful young lady.
Grace and peace darling,
~25
P.S.
A dear friend of mine, Erin recently wrote a blog in the form of 'I wish I'd known then...' which caused me to spend much time reflecting on the same concept.
What would you tell your 13 old self if you had the chance?
(Typed while drinking stainless steel contained water while I should be posting discussions for my Masters program ^^).
1 comment:
Masters, shmasters...this was worth the procrastination!
Knowing the 13-year old you and the 25-year old you and all that has happened in between made me cry while reading this. But tears of pure joy and love. You are absolutely one of the most beautiful people I will ever know. And even my 26-year old self doesn't mind saying that for my 80-year old self because it will be even more true then, I know for a fact.
Dear 13-year old Melissa, You will be wonderfully unique, but you will fight it. You will have grace and self-discipline like no one else your age, but you will fight it. You will have intelligence and depth of someone twice your age, but you will fight it. But the day you stop fighting it, you will learn the undying love of Christ and how you can share that love with the world. The day you do that, you will truly be the Melissa I know and have always loved. And you will be one of my forever friends. You don't know it yet, but you're amazing.
Love, 26-year old Erin
Post a Comment