A letter from Aug 05, 2022

Dear High School Graduate Me, Today was my first day of freshman year of high school. I got minorly lost twice and took a lot of notes. My new soccer season starts in a few weeks. I can actually see some of my muscles and I love it. I still think about my friend Este almost every day since he went back to Costa Rica. I probably worry about what other people think of me more than I should because of everything that happened last school year. My room is always messy, normally with a combination of dirty and clean clothes and random school stuff. My wrist hurts pretty much every day even after the steroid shot that was supposed to help fix it . I worry that I'll have to have surgery on it. I get along with my mom and dad decently, but I struggle with them because I don't know how to ask them for space in a nice way. I want to start babysitting this school year and next summer I want to help with the Otters. High school is kind of scary, but I love it. I love the freedom and how everyone goes about their own business and says hi to each other in the halls. I'm constantly afraid that I'll have an allergic reaction, so I'm really careful about it. I worry that people will judge me, or that I won't be prepared. Storms give me a panic attack. I have to remind myself to relax and breathe. I struggle to be positive, but I'm trying to be better at it. Needles freak me out like crazy and I forget to breathe again. I want to get an award at graduation for the amount of service hours I have. I want to have a good GPA and be taking hard classes. I want to be a positive leader in my friend group. I want to be a hard worker. If possible, I want to still be playing soccer. I want to be confident and positive no matter the situation. I hope I have an idea what I want to do with my life. The best advice I can give you is BE POSITIVE, no matter what. Don't make excuses: look for the good. Be present. Learn to take breaks or step away when you need to, but not to give up. Listen to your body. Love yourself so you can love others back. Take it slow; enjoy the moment. I want to love learning with my whole heart. I want to be strong and take care of my body. I want anyone I date to be kind and take me as I am. I don't want to hide our relationship. I want to have friends like Sawyer & Emerson, but also like Clara or Maddie or Brianna. Right now, I see myself in the Medical or Teaching fields. I think it would be cool to take service dogs into the schools. I want to save as much as I can for college so I'm not broke. Am I happy? What college am I going to? What path am I taking? Who are my friends? Do I have a pet? Do I talk to Este any? Do I still love soccer? By the time I am reading this, I will be about to graduate from high school. Good luck, Jesus loves you, go get 'em!!