A Letter

Dear 16 year old self,

I thought ten years on I might be able to impart some of my 'wisdom'. So here is a letter to you.

Try not to care so much about what people think of you. Dont stress. This I say with the upmost sincerity. You will worry yourself into the ground. Stop crying over boys, they really aren't worth it. You need to realise that relationships end for a reason, and that reason is obvious. It was never going to work and they aren't good enough for you. I know it hurts but you will learn something from each one. It sounds oh so cliched but we like a cliche so seriously hold out for the good one.
Stop being so bloody mean to your parents. They love you and you should love them because they are quite frankly, awesome. So stop being a spoilt brat who thinks she is right all the time. You aren't and Mum is. Trust me on this one. I know the phone calls asking where you are can be annoying but honestly, in 10 years,  you will be calling her all the time just to catch up.
While we are at it stop being so angsty. It's really not worth our time and will achieve nothing. You need to be nice to the people that love you and stop pushing them away with bullshit and drama. You will still have people that you went to school with that are your very best friends even 10 years on so try hard not to piss them off or give them memories they can throw back at you in the future to embarrass you. On that note make sure you always make the effort to keep in touch with your friends but don't be upset if they don't make the effort back, the ones that matter will.
Please do try and do well in your GCSE's even though they won't really matter in 10 years. They will set you up with discipline and get you into college. Speaking of college, you will drop out 3 months before you take your A Levels but it was for a good life experience reason, besides we go on to spend 6 years getting a degree in English Literature, which is what we always wanted and we didn't need the A Levels anyway. But do keep writing. Write every day if you can, take the time to do so. Also don't worry about your shoddy maths. www.percentagecaculator.net is our friend.
I know you will have just got your first job washing dishes for £5 an hour. This is actually a very good rate for a 16 year old and you should really open up a bank account, (not with HSBC - they are crap), and start saving now. I know our dream is to have our own house, be married and have a child by the time we are 25 but I'm telling you now this hasn't happened. The reason we don't have a house is because we didn't save. The other things are down to your future boyfriend and out of my control.......
I'm not going to tell you to stop smoking because I quite enjoy it still but perhaps maybe consider if it is the best thing. I'm not going to tell you to drink less either because that's also up there on the list of things that are enjoyable but I will give you two tips. Drinking to excess to get over a break up is not a good idea and avoid milkshakes on a hangover. They don't mix well with us.
Please try and fight our intolerance to exercise and our love of melted cheese and fried chicken. You will still be unhappy with your body 10 years on but if you could just maybe look after it a bit better that would be great. On that note, stop wearing short skirts and getting your boobs out. Listen to your mother. We suit mid length skirts that show of our calves and you are asking for the wrong kind of attention with those low cut tops.
In a few years time you will get a call from your best friend asking you to move to Cardiff. Do this without a second of hesitation. They will be some of the best years of your life, and you will meet a group of people who mean the world to you and who love you for being you, even if you did take the Harry Potter Sorting Hat test and you are a Slytherin. Yeah. I know.
You need to have fun now and stop worrying about the future, and who likes you, and who thinks you are funny. Honestly the future will sort itself. Just stop stressing about the little things that really wont matter 10 years down the line because I can tell you, currently, life is pretty bloody great.  

C x