Dear Future Self
by Emily Reed
Dear future self,
Congratulations on finishing high school with at least a 3.5 GPA. If your GPA is anything less than that, I'll be disappointed because I know you can do better than that.
Sure, my mother would say it should be a 4.0 but don't listen to her. Being too hard on yourself isn't worth it. Soon you'll be off to college and you won't have to deal with her constant belittlement anymore.
That being said, I'm not sure if it's in your best interest to leave her a "nasty gram" because you never know when you'll be really desperate and need to call in a favor. I'd also like to think that you wouldn't do that because you know better. She's been difficult (that's the polite way to put it) your entire life but badmouthing her isn't going to change her ways. You know that she has issues that run deeper than the surface so this will only make her cry. You'd almost be a cold blooded sadist if you enjoyed the moment.
As I am well aware of your cold blooded, sadistic tendencies, I think you should actively try to fix them in high school. I hope you make friends that care about you and that you wholeheartedly care for. Now I'm not saying that everybody has to be your best bud, but you should let some people in.
Learning to trust again is important. I know you've been stabbed in the back before. (I say that as if it happened so long ago when it only happened last week.) Yet, you must remember that not everybody is a slimy snake in the grass.
With your trusted group of friends, make an effort to do fun things with them and be supportive of their endeavors. They put up with you being an jerk more times than not so it's the least you can do.
Be cognizant that most people aren't as insensitive as you. They have emotions and jokes can go too far, rather quickly, and if you're not careful, you could lose friends because of this.
While it's important to know your bad qualities, don't put yourself down too much because of them. It's ridiculous to feel guilty about making new friends and moving on with your life after Shawn and now Caleb.
Above all, get your act together before you graduate high school. Don't kid yourself into believing you're anything better than a disaster. Your goal should be to get clean and try to become a decent person that you're proud of.
With tough love,
8th grade Emily
Congratulations on finishing high school with at least a 3.5 GPA. If your GPA is anything less than that, I'll be disappointed because I know you can do better than that.
Sure, my mother would say it should be a 4.0 but don't listen to her. Being too hard on yourself isn't worth it. Soon you'll be off to college and you won't have to deal with her constant belittlement anymore.
That being said, I'm not sure if it's in your best interest to leave her a "nasty gram" because you never know when you'll be really desperate and need to call in a favor. I'd also like to think that you wouldn't do that because you know better. She's been difficult (that's the polite way to put it) your entire life but badmouthing her isn't going to change her ways. You know that she has issues that run deeper than the surface so this will only make her cry. You'd almost be a cold blooded sadist if you enjoyed the moment.
As I am well aware of your cold blooded, sadistic tendencies, I think you should actively try to fix them in high school. I hope you make friends that care about you and that you wholeheartedly care for. Now I'm not saying that everybody has to be your best bud, but you should let some people in.
Learning to trust again is important. I know you've been stabbed in the back before. (I say that as if it happened so long ago when it only happened last week.) Yet, you must remember that not everybody is a slimy snake in the grass.
With your trusted group of friends, make an effort to do fun things with them and be supportive of their endeavors. They put up with you being an jerk more times than not so it's the least you can do.
Be cognizant that most people aren't as insensitive as you. They have emotions and jokes can go too far, rather quickly, and if you're not careful, you could lose friends because of this.
While it's important to know your bad qualities, don't put yourself down too much because of them. It's ridiculous to feel guilty about making new friends and moving on with your life after Shawn and now Caleb.
Above all, get your act together before you graduate high school. Don't kid yourself into believing you're anything better than a disaster. Your goal should be to get clean and try to become a decent person that you're proud of.
With tough love,
8th grade Emily