Week 8: a letter to your 16-year-old self. What advice would you give?

16-Year-Old Me, it hasn't been long since I was you but quite a lot has changed. 

Firstly, I have some bad news to break. You need to know that your current boyfriend will not be in your life by age 19. In fact, you would have had a few boys come and go in your life and despite only three years passing, you'll still have no idea who you're going to marry - don't worry. You will, however, still love the name Aurora for your first born daughter. You will go through some pretty tough times in the few years to come but just know that you will be surrounded by wonderful, amazing, incredible and supportive people who will help you. 

I know that it's pretty hard living under parental permission and observation but as soon as you make it to the end of high school, you'll be out in the real world and tackling it solo. I promise, by living with someone else (be it a family member or partner) you will learn to compromise, which will help you in your life. While living alone, you will learn some weird facts about yourself: you will like all of your pantry foods to be decanted into containers and labelled; your DVD and book shelves will be organised and categorised; the colour coordination extremes of your room will even go as far as the colour of your bed sheets and the order of your clothes in the cupboard; and when using pegs, all of yours have to be the same colour. The joys will be great and it will be some of the most awesome years to come. However, you will grow out of some things: the obsession with changing your sheets daily will change; you'll get tired of decanting foods; you'll leave the house and forget to turn off the TV or kitchen light and sometimes you'll leave dishes in the sink - but ain't nobody got time for that. For now, enjoy having your washing done for you and the fridge full of your favourite foods. Because both will need managing when you move out. 

Learn to be more open. Learn to accept different people in your life, because most of the one's in your life won't be around for much longer. But don't worry little one, the one's that will stick around and the new friends you will make we be incredible. Your best friend will be the best support system you could ever have and more than you could ever dream of. Your close friends will be there no matter what. And those who leave your life, well you're better without them. What I'm about to tell you will probably shock you, you will start going to church. You will learn to trust in Him when you feel heartbroken and alone, it will be a life-changing moment and such an incredible part in your years to come. Your faith will carry you through.

You're going to meet a man who you fall head over heels for. Enjoy it. Savour those moments. I'm not going to tell you what will happen, I don't want it to influence how much fun you have in the relationship, but I will tell you that it will be fairly short lived. He will blow any other man that's ever been in your life right out of the water. Your first kiss together will be magical. Your first time together will be one of, if not the most romantic, wonderful and magnificent. Give him your heart, maybe not all of it but most. 

Your dream and desire, from Year 5, of wanting to be a teacher will grow stronger and stronger with the influence of three amazing women. After hours of assignment writing, lesson planning and student teaching, you'll still cherish the profession and be excited for your future. Although you will move around a lot in your first year of uni, you will settle and be very happy with your decision. 

Listen when you're told that you're a good writer. Getting up early to publish a post before 6am and staying up late to reply to emails will all be worth it. Your blog, that you may or may not have started yet will allow you to do some incredible things and take you to some gorgeous places. Pay attention to those around you and be grateful for such a fantastic job. You will discover how words can inspire, heal, create acceptance and joy to people around the world who you will probably never have the chance to meet. Believe in yourself, okay?!

It hurts me, that at such a young age you are so focused on your reflection in the mirror. The way you hate the colour of your hair, your skin, and your weight. But, little one, you're beautiful just the way you are. You will learn to be more gentle with your appearance and learn to love the body that you are in over the next few years. As for your immensely pale skin, you'll learn to fake tan.

Be nice to yourself. Every bad thought about yourself that you have will bottle up and lead to immense panic attacks in the next few years. You must realise that words are powerful and leave bruises. Use them wisely.

You will struggle to find your perfect group of friends, but after all of the struggle they will be worth it. Fitting in has always been difficult, but after high school you'll finally be able to find people with similar interests, morals and actions. Cherish them. Let go of those you outgrow and learn to find inner peace with your new girl gang.

Keep reading books. You'll be grateful for reading those classics when you get into university and don't need to waste time re-reading them because you already know what happened (and the inner geek in you has signposted important pages). However, you should keep a list of the books you read on your phone - it will be something impressive to add to over your life. Who cares how invested you get into the story of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet?! - pine over the beautiful romance.

As for all of those raging hormones, feelings, emotions and constantly feeling overwhelmed - I'm sorry to say, but those aren't going anywhere soon. Breath, write and drink lots of hot cups of tea. You'll be fine, I promise.

You've got this, girl!

XO