Dear 16- year-old self,It sure has been a while. Three years? It seems like longer. Things are much different here and now (we’ve got Lady Gaga and pajama jeans now-the former one of the best things to have happened to the world and the latter being a new product that will give you nightmares for years to come).
And yet some things haven’t changed a bit. I’m here to tell you that things will get better. I know you too well, actually, although I doubt you’d believe that. You always were pretty stubborn about being understood.
I know you feel pretty lonely right now and pretty trapped. But, you’ll find your place soon. It’s not really a physical place but more a mental state of being. You’ve learned a lot, grown a lot. One day, at the church summer program, you’ll paint your nails black. Remember this day. It’s important. You won’t realize it at first, but it will be the beginning of much change.
From that day on, you’ll be different. You’ll start to allow yourself to get out of your cage. It’ll be hard at first. But you’ll get stronger. That’s one thing I want you to know: it gets better from here. You’ll grow and change and learn so much. You’ll learn to think for yourself. It won’t be easy. In fact, it’ll be a different kind of pain; one that you’ve never known. But you’ll grow a backbone.
I can’t promise that everything is better. Things will never be easy. That’s just life. But you are strong. You’ve got strength and power that you can’t even imagine. There’s no perfect place for us just yet. But I have a feeling that we’ll be a part of making a place for people who feel the way we do.
We’re gonna change the world, you and I. Just keep holding on, for now. It’s hard, for sure. But just breathe. Just learn to love yourself and learn to love others. Realize that you’re where you are for a reason. It’s okay to be a little lost now and then. You’ll find your way. Even if that means you have to make your own path.
So, my little bird, hold your head up high. You’re growing and changing. It will hurt. But growing usually does. Just know that it ends in some ways. And in others, it may never end.
We’ll make a new path. We’ll start a revolution. The sky will get clearer. The sun will get brighter. And we’ll be here.
The world isn’t ready for us, just yet. But it will be soon. Very soon.