10 Years Later ⌚
22 April, 2015
❤ Dear 13-year old Paige,
First things first, congrats on the first kiss. I know how incredibly awkward that was. The worst is over.
More importantly, I know you're nervous about starting high school, going from a class of 20 to over 400. You don't know the friend's you'll make or the classes you'll take or whether you'll be cool or not. You don't know if you'll do well on the swim team or if you'll date a cute boy or get asked to prom...
Honey, don't fret. You'll make some dear friends, you'll be so uncool you'll actually be cool, and you'll do great on the swim team, even getting your name up on the record board. You'll date a handful of guys, none of which you'll marry, but they will treat you fairly well & make you feel pretty. Prom will be one of the best nights of your life. You'll feel like a Barbie, dancing the night away with all your friends, singing karaoke, and staying out all night.
College will be wonderful. You'll have an extreme-party phase (going out 8 nights in a row, brace yourself) and soon getting over it. You'll date two guys seriously. You'll explore Europe for two months. You'll lose weight. You'll gain weight. You'll ask Jesus to be your best friend. And you'll top it off by sharing your testimony to over 1,500 of your peers the week of graduation at an assembly.
You'll finish an Ironman triathlon faster than 75% of the competition. You'll take a weekly surf class & a disc jockey class. You'll party in the hottest LA nightclubs. You'll pray in the oldest European churches. You'll befriend both the top 1% and bottom 1%, visiting mansions of the rich and famous and serving food to the poorest of poor. You'll teach fitness classes. You'll read the whole Bible. You'll become a health nut and learn to cook, well. You'll travel to Hawaii and Mexico and the Bahamas and Europe with your family. You'll move to Central America for a few months on your own. You'll develop an eating disorder and shortly overcome it.
You'll have extreme highs. You'll have deep lows. You'll lose yourself. You'll find yourself. You'll be called too fat. You'll be called too thin. You'll meet Britney Spears and Adam Sandler and Pamela Andersen. You'll wave to Justin Beiber from your car (don't know him, do ya? trust me, he'll be huge). You'll run the first mile with a man running across the entire country. You'll date too old for you, and too young. You'll compromise yourself. You'll ignore your feelings to fit in. You'll learn to take a stand for what you believe.
You'll steal things. You'll donate things. You'll skinny dip in your highschool pool. You'll try things you shouldn't try. You'll cliff jump. You'll develop POTS disorder and get better. You'll go to more concerts than you can count. You'll make fun of sexual purity. You'll wish you hadn't. You'll cheat on an important test and get caught. You'll cheat on an even more important test and receive an A+.
You'll join a sorority. You'll kiss boys who are mean to you. You'll be even meaner to other boys. You'll receive a car you don't deserve on your 16th birthday with a big red bow on top. You'll get grounded and have to walk home from school. You'll cry over a breakup. You'll laugh over a breakup. You'll screw up and you'll redeem yourself.
To sum it all up, here's my advice, sweetie: Don't take life so seriously, you'll be fine, ending up right where you belong. Sure, you'll screw up, but that's the beauty of this life, isn't it? It's nothing the blood of Jesus can't and won't cover. Don't grow up too fast, you have your whole life to be an adult. Enjoy the ride, beloved girl, because it sure goes quick.
Love, 23-year old Paige ❤
