Dear Fifteen Year Old Self:
Stop worrying about boys. When everyone says that girls mature a lot faster than boys, they are not kidding. The boys you wish would talk to you are utterly incapable of it. Don’t take it personally. Cultivate friendships with your girlfriends. Ignore the boys or regard them as cute decor, but don’t expect anything from them. Find your interests, pursue them, read a lot and enjoy being a girl.
Falling in love is less about falling and more about choosing. Love isn’t supposed to hurt or make you cry. There’s plenty of time for love later. Meanwhile, learn to appreciate and love yourself. You are cuter than you think, smarter than you know and funny, too. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Stop comparing yourself to other girls and wondering why your family can’t be like other families. Everything you experience will be valuable later, so embrace it, pay attention and take good notes.
Speaking of notes . . . don’t destroy your journals and diaries. You’ll regret it.
Don’t let anyone derail you from pursuing your dreams and your interests. The college you will choose is really, really important. Don’t be swayed. Use your brain. Your emotions are valid, but they should not steer your life. Think. Trust yourself but find adults who can give you good advice.
Finally . . . you are not fat. Knock it off with the self-loathing. Ride your bike! Feel the wind in your hair! You will never again feel quite as healthy as you do now. Eat lunch! Stop trying to quit eating entirely. Food is not an enemy. Neither is the body God gave you.
Enjoy the summer. You have so few teenage summers left and you should savor every second. Summertime when you’re an adult is just not the same.
Love,
Melodee
Actual Unretouched Photo 
I wrote a post like this to myself a few years back. Oh, if I’d only known then when I was young what I know now. But maybe if we did, we wouldn’t want to move past where we were then?? God’s wisdom is the best in not letting us know the future, don’t you think? I mean, not that anything absolutely catastrophic has happened in my lifetime so far but I’ve been over some rough roads, that’s for sure. I don’t know if I would’ve realized back then the inner strengths I’ve found to help me thru the hard trials of life. I know now I’m a VERY strong person. And it was some of the early hard lessons that helped make me into who I am now.
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How true. But was there a 15 year old who would ever heed that advice?
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Perfect, Mel.
I often wish I could go back in time to my teen self for a do-over. The catch is that my mind would be my 44yo self. Wouldn’t that be cool?
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I’m going to print this out and hand it to my daughters, each of whom are currently in the throes of this very thing.
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This made me think back & realize that my summer at fifteen years old was my last “kid” summer. I “had” to grow up WAY TOO FAST!!!! Sad.
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If only I had listened & “known”.
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What a wonderful letter. My 15 year old self needed this letter too.
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I am sending this to Katelyn and Hailey. remember baby sitting them? katelyn is almost 16 and Hailey is 14. This is perfect for them. Your words but my thoughts too.
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