Dear 13-Year-Old Me.

In honor of the fact that it's February and my eighteenth birthday (whoa) is at the end of this month, I thought it would be interesting to reflect on who I was when I was barely a teenager.

Dear 13-year-old me:

I think anyone would start of a letter to their previous selves by saying "I know how you feel." Personally, I think that's stupid... mostly because I don't remember much about exactly how I was feeling almost five years ago. So, rather than making this all about "it gets better" and "chin up, little one," this letter is going to be one of practicality. 

There will be times, as you start high school, when you lose sight of the whole purpose of school. Not too many times, but enough to make you question why the heck school exists in the first place. In these times, just keep going. It's actually required by law that you attend high school so you might as well make the most of it. 

Also, this year is the beginning of a life-long process of weeding out people that do nothing but add negativity to your life. Soon, you'll start running into people who will try to convince you that you're not good enough, or that you're wrong. For the love of all things good, ignore them. It'll cause you too much unnecessary pain to put up with their baggage. There's an important lesson to learn this year about people: jealousy exists within "friendships," even if you can't identify it right away. These are the types of "friends" that will suck you dry and move on. Unfortunately, these people are pretty much unavoidable... just deal with them in the best way you possibly can.

This year, you'll probably begin to think about the future a lot. I can't say that you'll ever stop, because frankly, I still think about this all the time. You'll think about college (which actually isn't that far away, contrary to popular belief) and all things beyond a time frame you can even imagine. Even though you shouldn't let this consume you, always keep it stored safely somewhere in the back of your mind. Your self-motivation is a trait not everyone has. Use it. 

Whatever you do, never stop fighting. Never compromise who you are for the sake of someone else. And never, ever, let anybody tell you who you are. Even adults, who are supposed to know better, will try and change you in the coming years. You'll learn very quickly that age doesn't equal maturity. 

Oh, and just remember: you're not the kind of girl who settles. 

Keep not settling,