A Letter to Myself at 15

Dear 15-year-old Casey,

First off, after you’re done reading this letter – turn off the TV, get off the computer, and go to bed!  You have plenty of years of exhaustion ahead of you, start saving your energy now.

You are so young.  But you totally don’t think so – you feel so mature and ready to take on the world, but you have no idea what’s coming. 

You’re about to get into a relationship – your first real one.  You’ll think you’re in love and when it ends, it’s going to hurt.  Like really hurt, like you haven’t felt yet.  You’re going to cry more than you ever have before, and feel like life, as you know it, is over.  But I promise you it’s going to get better.  Just a few months later and you won’t even remember the hurt – it’ll be like an old faded scar, just a painless reminder of what once happened.

Stop fighting with your friends – you fight dirty, and it’s not ladylike.  Be the bigger person, and don’t worry about winning every time.  Learn to admit you're wrong (even though I know it's so rare).

Be nicer to your parents.  There will come a time not too long from now that they will stop seeming like parents, and more like friends and not everyone is lucky enough to have that kind of relationship. 

Care about your grades more.  School is not just for socializing, and you’re going to wish you had paid a lot more attention, especially in science and history.

Spend more time with your sisters.  They’re only 9 now, but soon enough you’re look back and wonder where all the time you could have spent with them has gone.  They will go from little girls to teenagers to taller than you in the blink of an eye.  They love you and look up to you, especially now – be a good example.

You don’t have all the answers, and you don’t have to.  Stop looking for them desperately as if without them you’re destined to fail.  You will find your own way – build your own path.  What you want now is not what you’ll want forever, no matter how much you think it will be.  The prom queen goes back to being the same as everyone else after graduation, so do the cheerleaders, and everyone on ASB – stop looking at them like they have the secret to success. 

Relish every moment, and don’t try to speed up time.  Sooner than you think you’ll wish you could press pause, or at least slow down, so take advantage of this time in your life with minimal obligations and responsibilities. 

Also, learn to take out the trash, and start making your bed more often – these habits would be good to have.

Lots of Love and a Promise that Everything Turns Out Great,

Casey at 23

PS – take a couple pictures here and there with that Smart-Ass Redhead Kid you finally got over, they’d be so nice to have now.