Dear My Young Self,
Yes you, you who have been trying so hard, doing everything perfectly until you hurt. You, who have been working, working and continuously working past your limits trying to reach a perfection that doesn’t exist. What drives you to be this person? You wanted the praise of everyone, you wanted everyone to say your name. It didn’t matter what you had to do, everyone had to like you. Today, I write to you from the future telling you only one message, “Stay strong.”
People have a lot of wrong interpretations of what “stay strong” means. Holding the pain inside is not strength. Having the courage to show it, share and do something because of your pain is real strength. That’s why I want you to share your pain, tell people about it and do something to change it. I learned the hard way that keeping your pain inside will only make things worse. That’s why all I want to say is it’s okay. You face a lot of problems, realize there are a lot of things that you can’t do alone but, don’t be afraid. You’re not the only with a million problems. We’re all the same. We all have that “worst life” that we want to run away from. We all have those things that we find elusive. We’re all the same. That’s why, although this is probably one of the most cliche things I will ever say, but I still want to say it: Share your problems with people you trust and it will help you stay strong.
There will always be the worry that people will turn away from you or reject you and that you will be considered “different” from the rest of the group. Although there are some people who might turn away from problems, there are so many people who want to help you. According to Dr. Stephen Piling, when you let out your feelings, whether you write it down or speak to people, they become easier to tackle. When your thoughts swirl around inside your head, they seem terrifying. By getting your emotions out, you will make the problem seem like an external situation. This makes it easier to think about the problem from other views and calmly think about the situation. Keeping your problems locked inside and not sharing them with others can be harmful to you. According to DoSomething.org, about 20% of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood. If you knew a way to prevent this, why wouldn’t you try? Although there are a lot of people who might not particularly care, a majority of the people who you talk to will be glad that you are talking to them and will want to help you. Everyone has problems and we all know that when we have problems we want help from other people. If everyone understands sadness, why won’t they help you? That is why I say yet again, stay strong. Don’t keep all of your pain locked inside, let it out. Talk to people you trust and people who seem like they want to help. This will help you have a life that is positive, healthy and happy.
I am saying this to help you because I know what happens. If you keep your feelings locked inside for a long time, you will become a complicated person. Is it logical to be afraid of asking help from people who want to help you? If you can’t do something, just tell someone that. Having support from others can help you solve problems you wouldn’t be able to solve alone. I’m not saying to go and complain about every little problem you have, but when something is really on your mind and weighing you down, just talk to people who want to listen and it will make you feel a lot calmer.
Every day we all face millions of problems and are bothered by so much, but in the end, when we solve these problems, we get so much satisfaction. Each problem makes us stronger and makes it easier for us to deal with other problems. Trust your friends and ask them for help when you are really worried about something. I hope my letter will help you become a good person. I look forward to writing to you again. But for now, I will take my leave restating my only message to you: Stay Strong.
Yours truly,
You in the future
October 19, 2016