Dear 10 year-old me,

Remember the first time you had a pink room? The one where you begged your parents for the new light-switch decorations and they finally gave in? Those were good times. It is as if you saw into your future the desire for colored and decorated walls.

Eight years later, you hate the color pink.

The way you view teenagers is one day going to be pursued–by a snap of a finger, you are going to be a teenager yourself. And trust me, it is not a walk in the park. Being a teenager does not consist of cool clothes, chatting with your friends by lockers, having perfect makeup, and knowing, right off the bat, where you want to be in life. Being a teenager takes a lot of tries. It consists of many mornings you will not necessarily want to get out of bed, but you do anyway, because you want to kiss your mom goodbye on the way to school.

At the same time, being a teenager is beautiful. It consists of staying up late with friends and far too many Friday nights at the ice rink. It consists of nearly three years of braces, just to finally get a flawless result.

You will discover self-confidence and it will make you feel as if you’ve got it all figured out.

Your friends will come and go, and though many obstacles will occur, your family will be forever on your side. Your ambition in the medical field will diminish slowly, but your desire to help people will never leave you.

You will discover that consistently trimming your bangs will be the one thing that makes you feel most like yourself. Struggling to achieve perfection will always be in your veins, but by the time you approach legal adulthood, you will learn that being “good enough” is better than shying away from doing something all together.

You will embrace a passion for writing.

Though it seems distant, moving away from your parents will be the main source of stress in your life, eight years from now. Moving to another state to attend a college you would never expect to attend will be the scariest concept, but the most coming-of-age moment you have yet to experience.

Embrace the moments which make you feel as if the hardest decision you have to make is what colored pencil you will use. Embrace the moments of riding a bike around your neighborhood and homework-free weekends. Follow your instinct when you debate whether or not you enjoy eating meat.

And most importantly, embrace your passion in general.