Dear 16 year old me

Day three of "Blogtember" (except now its Blogtober) asks to pass on some useful information or advice you learned and always remembered. I thought I would put a spin on it and write this letter to myself at age 16.

When I was sixteen I thought the world revolved around me. I tried way too hard to fit in and did stupid things to do so. I changed myself for a guy that I was dating and lost touch with some friends (found my way back eventually) and was terrible to my mother. So here is what I would say to the me I was back then (and be grateful as I'm typing that I have come a long way).

Dear Amanda,

At sixteen you have not nearly begun to live life. There is so much more to it than boys, makeup and clothing. God made you to be perfect in his eyes and there is nothing that you need to change. A real man will love you for who you are, what you do and where you come from. You should never have to change those things to make him love you. I know this because you meet that man someday.

Pay attention and do well in school. Stay involved in extra-curricular activities that do not involve smoking, drugs or alcohol. You will appreciate that advice in the near future because 99.9% of the dumb things that you will ever do involve those things.

Of the "many" friends that you have now, only a few will still be there in 12 years. Those are the friends that you should treat the best. They will forever have your back and support all that you do. They will rejoice in your successes and be a shoulder to cry on during your failures. They will never leave your side.

Your mom is THE most important and influential woman in you life and you need to value and respect her. Spend time with her and become her best friend now because it is the greatest friendship in the world and she will truly be your best friend someday. Know that it hurts like hell when your child says they hate you. Trust me...you'll hear it when you have a child of your own.

Always know that at the end of the day, your life turns out exactly how it was meant to be. Don't sweat the small stuff because there are bigger and better things. And try to love and respect yourself more.

Sincerely,
The older and wiser you

The best advice I was ever told was in high school and it was that "none of this (as in materialistic things and mean people) matters". Life is so much more than high school. Thank god that we learn and grow from our mistakes. I always say that I have no regrets because those "regrets" are lessons learned and helped to make me into who I am today.

**Facebook didn't come out until I was in college so I do not have a picture of 16 year old me on the computer. Just know it would have given you a laugh. AWKWARD.