Ginger at GReads! came up with an idea to highlight YA contemporary books -
the idea to write a letter to our young adult self! Inspired by the Dear Teen Me book.
Ginger then asked a bunch of authors and bloggers to share their letters and book recommendations in this month long feature... please see Ginger's intro post here for more information on the event and the giveaway that she is hosting!
the idea to write a letter to our young adult self! Inspired by the Dear Teen Me book.
Ginger then asked a bunch of authors and bloggers to share their letters and book recommendations in this month long feature... please see Ginger's intro post here for more information on the event and the giveaway that she is hosting!
 |
| #OpenLettertoYASelf |
Dear 16-year-old Margie...
On your 16th birthday you wonder and dream about what it is going to be like when you turn 30... age is just a number. Turning 16 is no big deal, you didn't want a Quinceanera or a Sweet Sixteen... nor do you plan on doing anything for any other birthdays, at least nothing big or typical. But for some odd reason, turning 30 seems so far away, and SO old, it scares you. Please stop worrying so much, everything is amazing, more than you ever dreamed of! (Hitting 40 is scarier, but we're learning to embrace it now, lol!)
I am so sorry that we couldn't find someone/something to help guide you through high school. The pressure of always having to be the quiet, nice, smart girl is hard. And the few ways that you've tried to break out of the mold you've been put in and reach out is wrong, and puts you in unwanted situations. Please stop. Embrace the quiet... you'll thank me later!
The two people you thought would be by your side throughout school, to lean on and support each other, have just disappeared from your life with no explanation - I'm so sorry! But, I am so proud on how well you handle it. I'm still surprised that you don't even cry about it. You don't ask why or dwell on it. You hope for something positive to happen soon, and you continue to try to reach out and let them know you're still there for them. You are wise beyond your years, so deep and thoughtful, a good caring person.
Only knowing half the things that our peers talk about and do is frustrating. Right now, there is no one like you - an American/Puerto Rican who has never had broccoli or hashbrowns, but prefers pizza over mami's arroz con pollo... a Latina that can't dance or cook... a girl stuck in between two languages - knowing the words and how to use them but not fully understanding their true meanings. Not only this, but also the fact that there are classmates that resent you because you don't need a green card to be here, you act and dress too "white". And your other classmates don't understand you. Even though you were born and raised here, you grew up in a strict Catholic-Spanish household, with Latino foods, music, etc. You're starting to realize that no amount of MTV or Beverly Hills 90210 is going to help. It's time to start letting things go and search for whatever it is you are going to like, love and enjoy.
I wish I could warn you about the things that are going to happen to you soon. The group of girls you desperately want to befriend now is not who you are or what you want to be. You'll find out soon enough. The disappointment and heartache will be short-lived. Many more not-so-great moments are going to happen, you will learn. Move on. Embrace the good and store away the bad, because I know that you fear making the same mistake twice. You still do.
All the "firsts" that you've been daydreaming about will happen within the next few years - a little later than we anticipated, but it's all good - I promise you, they are all worth the wait!
My one wish for you is to remain strong and follow your heart! I know that you struggle with this and don't have the confidence yet. You will give up too easily on a dream, twice. And it's okay, you have other dreams to get to first... I wish I could tell you that that dream has come true by now, but no, it is still a dream, but we still have plenty of time!
Most of all, I want to let you know that no matter what - I have and will always love you!
xoxo, Your 40-year-old-awesome-self
- REVENGE OF THE GIRL WITH THE GREAT PERSONALITY...
A very long time ago, we accepted the fact that we were always going to be average looking. I'm proud of you for not being vain, and for trying hard to accept who you are. But, I know how tiring it got to hear how we had such a great personality - as if the person was disappointed, like that wasn't enough. Well, Lexi could have not only supported us, but she would have given us the pep talk, support and fun moments we desperately needed so we wouldn't feel so badly about ourselves!
- PRETTY AMY...
You are quite naive my dear ol' self, but, in the end, you did us both so proud! You could have ended up like Amy - I wish you would have been able to read Amy's story so you could have done right and stuck up for yourself a lot sooner than you did. In the end, you did the right thing. But you could have been spared of all the angst, hurt and loneliness a lot sooner if I could have introduced you to Amy.
- WANDERLOVE...
Oh, how I wish Bria would have come into our lives when we were 16... I'm not saying we needed to run away and travel the world alone! But, she would have helped us open our eyes and see that there is more to life than the protective little bubble you are living in. I wish you could see how strong you are and tried your damnedest to pursue your dreams, to continue on with your education and do the things that you so desperately wanted to do, and especially, not leave your creative side to wither away. I have no regrets, but this all would have been a great bonus to have had by our side!
- FANGIRL...
And lastly, I mostly wish that you could have met Cath ages ago! She would have taught us that it is okay for us to embrace our inner geek-girl! We could have enjoyed ALL of the BOOKS! ALL of the FANDOMS! We could have written ALL of the stories and poetry! And we could have drawn ALL of the illustrations and comic books to go along with it!
Don't worry, we are definitely catching up on all of this now ;)
A very long time ago, we accepted the fact that we were always going to be average looking. I'm proud of you for not being vain, and for trying hard to accept who you are. But, I know how tiring it got to hear how we had such a great personality - as if the person was disappointed, like that wasn't enough. Well, Lexi could have not only supported us, but she would have given us the pep talk, support and fun moments we desperately needed so we wouldn't feel so badly about ourselves!
- PRETTY AMY...
You are quite naive my dear ol' self, but, in the end, you did us both so proud! You could have ended up like Amy - I wish you would have been able to read Amy's story so you could have done right and stuck up for yourself a lot sooner than you did. In the end, you did the right thing. But you could have been spared of all the angst, hurt and loneliness a lot sooner if I could have introduced you to Amy.
- WANDERLOVE...
Oh, how I wish Bria would have come into our lives when we were 16... I'm not saying we needed to run away and travel the world alone! But, she would have helped us open our eyes and see that there is more to life than the protective little bubble you are living in. I wish you could see how strong you are and tried your damnedest to pursue your dreams, to continue on with your education and do the things that you so desperately wanted to do, and especially, not leave your creative side to wither away. I have no regrets, but this all would have been a great bonus to have had by our side!
- FANGIRL...
And lastly, I mostly wish that you could have met Cath ages ago! She would have taught us that it is okay for us to embrace our inner geek-girl! We could have enjoyed ALL of the BOOKS! ALL of the FANDOMS! We could have written ALL of the stories and poetry! And we could have drawn ALL of the illustrations and comic books to go along with it!
Don't worry, we are definitely catching up on all of this now ;)
Thank you so much, Ginger, for putting this together and letting me be a part of this!
GIVEAWAY
Giveaway open to international readers!
(The Book Depository must be able to ship to you.)
Good luck!
Margie, I really enjoyed getting to know you better through this letter. I feel like my teenage self could relate a lot to yours in respect to discovering your own identity. We're so quick to have it all figured out at that age, but we don't realize until much later it's the "figuring out" stage that becomes so important to us. Thank you for being apart of this feature with me! xxoo
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the time you have, go out with your friends and study less!!
ReplyDelete