A Letter To Your 16 Year Old Self

Dear Tom/Mitten/TumTum/Mitmut/TC,

Although you have many different names, you are one person. One person cannot change the lives of multiple others, so instead you should begin concentrating on your own. The phrase, "looking after number one" should be your priority for the next few years, and even if this does lose you a few friends, the alternative is doing what I did, and trying to be friends with everyone, forgetting about yourself.

The exams coming up, are not the be all and end all of your life. The exams coming up should be used to get into a routine that will be needed in the next couple of years. I won't lie, GCSE's aren't massively important in the bigger scheme of things, but are just the beginning of what will be a challenging few years. Hard work, (or any work at all to be honest), will only pay dividends. I learnt the hard way, and I urge you not to do the same. Pressure will become your worst enemy, but the advice I give you is the same advice I try and give myself today. Take a deep breath, and just get on with it. Don't feel that you should work 24/7, because no one expects that of you. Instead, extend your school day by a couple of hours each day, work hard then play hard. It's better than 8 and a half solid hours of manual labour, something you will become "allergic" to in 3 or 4 years time.

If I told you what the next few years had in store for you, I would not be your best friend. Not liking myself was exactly what I had to endure, and I would hate the same to happen to you. You are going to go through the same trials and tribulations I had to, but I must tell you to use the people around you to get through it. Don't bottle it up, but instead let all the frustration loose on the two people you will call 'The Parents Mitten', and the friendships you have built to good effect. That is what they are there for after all. Be more confident in your own abilities in and out of education and be prepared to experience some things that sound ridiculously daunting. When you reach adulthood, these will come in handy.

The one thing though, above anything else, is to accept who you are and don't be afraid of people's reactions to it. Again, it may sound incredibly daunting, and nasty words may come your way, but you have enough friends to help you through before people start talking about the next person. Spiteful people are not worth having in your life, so stop trying to please them and concentrate your personalistic traits on the people who are worth it. And who knows, you may even make more special friends, (wink wink)!

Things don't turn out too badly. If I had been more sensible and wise about my decisions, taking a step back and looking at it from a future point of view, I could have realised the potential that so many talk and will talk more about. You've got the opportunity to make this a reality. It took me a fair while to work out the lesson of life, so hopefully, you'll work it out sooner rather than later!

All is not lost, by any means. But in the same quantity, a lot more can be gained.

Love, A 20-year old You