Jaae Baby

Dear 15 year-old Tonia Jordan,

I know this sounds strange, but I know somewhere in your silly sci-fi mind, you re going to believe me: I m you in 10 years. That s right - I m writing this at the age of 25, and I have some advice for you.

First off, I want you to realize that High School is nothing. Once you graduate, you ll never see those people again. That group of kids who pick on you everyday because they think you re trying to be like them: don t even worry about them! In a few years, you ll take their leader to court for harassment, and you ll win. (And even more years later, that same leader will find you and apologize for his behavior.)

Secondly, don t fight with your sister so much. I know you get frustrated with her, but it s only because you re so close to one another. In the next few years, you re going to be separated from her, and you ll miss her like crazy. Enjoy the time you ve got with her now.

Third, don t blame your parents so much. They re really trying. In a few years, you ll realize that, yes, they did make some mistakes, but they re only human. They love you and care about you, and that s the most important thing. In about 10 years, your Mom will go through a kidney transplant, and your Dad will change quite a bit.

You ll have ups and downs, as is normal with anyone living in this crazy world. You ll meet some great people, and some not-so great ones. There will be some death, but lots of life. You ll have additions to your family, and some beautiful nieces and nephews.

One very exciting thing: You re going to go to college! The first in your family to go, and you ll be quite proud of that. You ll even start a trend in your family - your sister will go to college one year after you do, and some of your cousins will go, as well.

You ll go through some bad jobs, but you ll also have some fun times and meet some great new friends. You ll finally be able to feel accepted among people. You won t feel so alone anymore. You re going to move to the city, too! You ll live in a tiny apartment next to an art school, and you ll have so much fun there.

You ll also meet the guy of your dreams (hint, hint, you know him already!), and you ll get married. I know - the girl who swore she d never get married! You ll be extremely happily married, and you ll laugh and smile everyday.

So, look on the bright side! You have so much to look forward to. Just hang in there until high school is over.

Love, as always,

Tonia

Tonia Jordan is an author on Writing.Com/ Writing.com
which is a site for Writing.Com/ Writers.

She is also a stringer for the Standard Speaker, a Pennsylvania newspaper, and is editor of Word of Mouth Magazine.