Dear Meggie Meaghan,

Yes, I'm talking to you. You were standing in the marching band field, playing your buns off in ninety-degree weather these past five years, completely red and sunburned. You would play on your best days, and your worst, but you didn't care. You loved your music.

I know who you are. You brought me to life by your aspirations, your saddened recollections of better days as you tried to defog the future, only to realize it was as misty as ever. I am who you are then, and you are who I am now. Call me a time traveller(as I did when when we role-played), talking to you and breaking the Laws of Physics, but trust me, I'm just here to give you something. 

Simple advice.

Yeah, yeah, I can hear you scoff right now, and you think I'm crazy. What have you learned in the last five and a half years that you can tell me about? I mean, you're only about to turn fourteen where you're at. You're not even an adult! You're only a silent, internet-addicted teenager without one shred of philosophical decency. Wanna hear about an adult advising a teen? Let's talk about it.

Well, yeah, I have my flaws! I'm still naive. I'm still confused, even uncertain about the world I live in, but I have learned something that you haven't yet. 

That's always better than nothing. 

Your heart became bitter as soon as the imaginary plane left the warmth and sweetness of your childhood, the comfy cocoon that was the culture you were so used to. Now, thrown into the darkness of the world, you could only feel depressed and would cry out spontaneously. The world was not as you thought it to be.

Let me tell you right now, hun: you have to let go of the past. 

I know it's not ever gonna be easy, and I know you'll still spend time crying over it, but I know you'll enjoy the newfound freedom and joy, the respite from constant hard work, playing your lungs out, and marching with your fellow cadets. I know you'll probably still hate what politics are being played in Washington for the fate of your country, but you'll still want to stay up late and watch Transformers (1984) and drive your sister off the walls by watching it.

Here is what I have to add to this mush: you will always, and I mean always, think the past for what it used to be, but you must also understand that reality and change is not as cruel as it seems, and stuff happens all the time, Meaghan. Embrace the gift of new opportunities that this will bring, gently remember the past for what it was, and move on. Move on into a world that could promise you much more than what you left behind.

I know you aren't gonna believe me now, but we were all born without knowing what's ahead in the future. It's our choices and our beliefs that change over time that would either enhance our life or impair it.

Even more? Competitiveness in studies. It's in your blood. Even though you're different from the rest because of your way of thinking and naievity, you're just as gritty as them to succeed. You'll be happy to know you'll carry it wherever the heck you go. It'll be sluggish at first, but then you and your your prowess will shine. Soon, everyone will know you as the nerd, the girl who can do anything and everything. They'll ignore everything else and zero in on your marks. Nerd(I say this because I love you!). 

Don't be like your peers, whom some fell into that trap and didn't do as well as they could have. Take strength in what you are good at and keep at it, because you'll rise head and shoulders above them like the Eiffel Tower. Don't throw away your future for the sake of conformity, because deep inside your heart you'll resist anyway and mold yourself into the non-conformist that you always were. Your friends will understand this, even though they'll probably still tell you not to be unique. At the end of the day, it's up to you to make that choice. 

You still have friends, too. You met your twin sister as a wombmate in 1995. She was, and still is, one of a kind; she will always be there when you need her, and you will be there when she needs you. Your interests will differ, but together, you make a powerful force.

Appreciate your friends. Appreciate them for what they have done for you, and appreciate them for standing by you when you think the world has walked out on you. Be grateful for them. Appreciation and gratitude can be some of the most powerful forces in the world. Understand that. 

To add to this advice: when the going gets tough, cry. Get all the emotions out. Keeping them holed-up in your chest will only make you feel worse. Believe me, I've tried. You know that you always do anyway, but don't ever think of it as weakness. Think of it like a Greek tragedy. It will cleanse your heart and make you feel better. 

All the same, don't worry about popularity in your art. When you do something, it's your own work, and you should be daggum proud of it. I know you'll still be craving for more, so why not go about it more constructively and help others less fortunate? Comment on their work whenever they favourite your work. Support others less fortunate through features and suggest tips via critiques. Trust me, when you get there, you'll be glad that you followed it. 

Even when you get established in that world, don't forget the real world. Just because you're not comfortable with the real world as much doesn't mean you can forget it. Life is out there, in the relationships with people and nature, and the shouts of kids on your driveway. Immerse yourself in reality and you will reap a thousand fold of joy that you can bring back to your second haven, the band room. You will only remain a shadow if you don't go out and embrace the world in all its beauty and its imperfection. 

Keep playing the trumpet, sugarcube. It's the only instrument that you've ever learned properly and it'll probably be the instrument you will love for life (However, your ocarina's cool to play, too). Never underestimate the power of music to the soul!

Don't worry about your future. Your love will lie in both the arts and the sciences, and the pros and cons of both fields will continue to make you confused and uncertain. Let life take its course and you will eventually find the niche that you'll want to occupy. 

Don't ever give up writing your fanfictions. Sometimes, you'll feel like stopping because you're not motivated and the words aren't coming out right. Sometimes, you see that others are so much better than you and it seems impossible to match them, let alone surpass them. If you don't write, you'll lose the only opportunity to express yourself truly. 

Finally, be yourself. You were born a hypocrite, as you hear many perspectives about so many different things. You will realize being on the fence on a lot of things can hurt as much as defending a side. You will realise being open-minded can be a lot harder than you think. As the world grows and changes, you can grow and change with it too, but you must believe in yourself that you are who you are and praise God for putting you on Earth this way. 

I really can't wait for the future, and I hope to see you soon! 

Yours truly, 
The crazy, corpse-obsessed, God-loving, video game consumed person I hope you recognize later on...

Otherwise known as,
Me