Letter To My High School Self: Thank You

Dear Asia,

Thank you. I know that sounds sarcastic, because you and I, we are kind of sarcastic brats, but as you get older you get nicer and more sincere. I swear. I don’t know how this happens, either, but when you’re my age, you’re gonna be quite the angel. And when you say thank you, you’re gonna mean it.

You’re making decisions right now that affect the rest of our lives for the wayyyyy better. I’ve been hearing a lot that the rest of your life is made up of decisions you make in your 20s- but I beg to differ. I think the rest of your life is made up of decisions you’re making now. I mean, no pressure, because you’re doing great. And take it from me, because I’m living the life that you’re building up for yourself now. And it’s awesome.

Thank you, first and foremost, for deciding to wear braces.

Finally. I mean I would have much rather preferred you did it in the sixth grade like you were supposed to, not as a sophomore in high school, but you know what? Better late than never. If you would’ve decided to keep our little chipmunk teeth for forever, I would be so angry with you at this age. Now every time I smile, I have you to thank. And mom and dad because that shiz is not cheap.

Thank you for not doing dumb crap.

I know that right now it seems like you’re missing out on all the fun. It doesn’t seem very fair that everyone else gets to go like party all night or do whatever in God’s name it is they do on Saturdays, and I know sometimes you feel a little bored- but the hobbies you developed, the trust you built with Mom and Dad, the example you set for your sister, and merely the trouble you didn’t get into- all that still plays a huge role into how awesome our life is today. So thank you for not becoming an alcoholic, or trashing your body, or ruining your lungs. We are very healthy because you didn’t screw it up for us or develop awful habits. You go girl.

Thank you for cheerleading.

GOD I know that it is pure ddrraammmaaaa, and that the haters are real, and that there are girls who don’t like you simply because you’re a good dancer (p.s. somehow you become better and better at dancing as you get older. I don’t know how that happens but look forward to lots of dancefloor nights in your future) and there are even more people who hate you because you look so freaking adorable in your uniform. But not only did cheer keep us active, we get to keep doing cheer in college and we meet lifelong friends on that team. It’s so nice to have an active hobby in college, and you will be so relieved to know we do not gain the Freshman 15 thanks to you cheering. I know cheering was a bit of a stretch for you at first, but it literally changes your life. You’re gonna have so much fun, meet so many fun people, and you’re also going to seriously injure your body. I am so sorry for that, but even now in my all-knowing-future-self ways, I wouldn’t tell you to stop cheering to avoid this injury. But for now, do all the hiking you can before you can never hike again.

Thank you for taking so many pictures.

Even though you wouldn't even dare think of not taking those pictures- all those pictures are like little time capsules. A lot of them are embarrassing, please stop cornrowing your hair, good God, but thank you for buying all those disposable cameras and for spending unGodly amounts of time taking fun posed pictures. This also REALLY REALLY helps you in your future life, which is a SUPER BIG HINT into what we do with our career, but like I said, I'm not trying to spoil anything for you. But keep taking pictures, sister. Actually take more. Trust me.

Thank you for all those AP classes.

And I know that you love most of them, because you’re truly an academic overachiever, but really you could’ve totally flaked out. You hate Physics. Jesus is going to help you with that final exam, by the way, so don’t worry. There’s a ridiculous amount of studying, and you might not remember most of it (AND YOU WILL SURVIVE WITHOUT THAT UNNECESSARY KNOWLEDGE I PROMISE), but the discipline you’re learning, the brain power you’re expanding, the people you’re surrounding yourself with- make it worth it. And you know what else makes it worth it? You saved us THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS by passing those AP exams. I know that’s not something you’re thinking about right now, but trust me, in a few years you’re gonna be writing this VERY SAME letter thanking you for putting in a little bit of extra work to get ahead in college. I know, it’s weird to think you have to pay for school, but you do. Like real dollars that come out of your bank account that you can’t spend on food or clothes or movie tickets. But you saved us so many dollars with those AP classes and thank you thank you thank you.

Thank you for getting kicked out of leadership.

This sounds sarcastic, but remember when I said we are all nice & sincere these days? It’s true. You get kicked out of leadership and that sucks. You also got kicked out of leadership in the 8th grade, I don’t know how you keep doing this. But anyway, you get your own radio show because they have no other place to put you. I know, this doesn’t sound like it’s teaching you any lessons, because you LOVE this radio show. And you also get to be the news anchor in that media class. And you don’t use that experience for a longgggg time, but when you’re my age, the ability to talk in front of camera and talk to an audience you can’t see becomes super imperative in what you choose to do with your life. I’m not going to ruin any surprises for you, but you’re gonna love it. Leadership, schmeadership. Not our path, sister. Don't sweat it. Everything happens for a reason, for realzies, and I swear those reasons will become clear. Eventually.

Thank you for choosing Cal Poly.

I have a spoiler alert for you: you are like never gonna use your degree. You're gonna work almost four years for it, and you're gonna work hard and get great grades, but it don't matter. And we know this while we are doing it, but we still keep working stupid hard at school because like I said, you are an academic overachiever no matter what sense I could talk into you. But ANYWAY you are gonna LOVE Cal Poly. You are going to make lifelong friends, you are going to fall in love with SLO, you are gonna be close to family and build a community around you that makes you feel like you belong here. Also thank you for choosing foreign languages as your major. Even though we do like nothing with this degree, it’s gonna set up opportunities for you that you’re going to LOVE, that are going to change your life, and you’re going to meet literally 90% of your lifelong friends in French class. Isn’t that a trip? But it’s a real thing. The rest I will keep as a surprise but thank you for choosing this path for us.

Thank you for loving Jesus.

What would have I done had you not found Jesus for us? Really, we both know, Jesus found us, but you could’ve ignored Him because it didn’t feel cool enough, because you didn’t have anyone to go to church with, because you right now really just don’t quite get what the hell was going on. But you are smart, ugh I love how smart you are, and you know when Jesus is talking to you. So thank you for all the Sundays you went to church alone, thank you for going to Bible study and bringing all your friends, thank you for asking all the dumb questions that I couldn’t ask now, because if you didn’t ask them, I would still have those questions. Thank you for learning the songs, for spending time in prayer, for setting up a Godly foundation for us to follow our whole lives. You introduced us to Jesus and that decision literally saved us.

You’re doing great.

And it only gets better from here.

Also, your sister is a total brat right now & she’s going to be like that for the next like ten years but then you’re gonna get really close so be patient with her. Also thank Mom and Dad all the time.

You’ll hear from me soon, more letters to come <3