Hope 1

Jesse Hope

Ms. Kennedy

English Comp 1113

Date This Paper is Due – 11th September 2022

#Dearme

Dear Jesse,

Hey! It’s me, your older self. I’m 29 pushing 30 now. I’m writing to give you some

advice I wish someone had given me when I was sixteen. This letter will give you some good

insight that will help you be the best you. I’m going to discuss topics such as coming out,

discovering yourself, school, friends, romantic relationships, therapy, financial health, and loving

yourself. Let’s start with coming out.

Wow! Sixteen. What I would give to be sixteen again. Things would go differently, that’s

for sure. You just came out of the closet on your sixteenth birthday. You struggled with this

decision for weeks and it took a lot for you to come out with it. You took that leap into the

unknown and it turned out not so bad. You’re excited to be out and open. You’re also very

nervous and apprehensive. Let that go! You’re going to be fine, I promise. Nobody that matters

is going to care. And the people that do care? Well, they don’t matter. I’m going to switch gears

now and talk a little about discovering yourself.

You still have a lot to learn about yourself. The surface of who you are hasn’t even been

scratched at this point. You will be discovering new things about yourself for the rest of your

life. So just focus on being a teenager for right now and live in the moment. You will be pushing

thirty in the blink of an eye and you’ll wonder where all the time went! Spoiler alert, you turn out

to be bisexual. Shocker, I know! Now let’s talk about your schooling.

 Hope 2

There isn’t a lot for me to say on this topic. You can do so much better than you currently

are. You know that. Yes, having ADHD makes school hard. It just means that you must work a

little harder than everyone else. Stay focused and study hard. You’ll do great. I suggest a gap

year before jumping right into college. Now let me tell you a little something about friends.

Those friends you got. You certainly spend a lot of time with them and it’s getting out of

hand. That is time you could spend studying or even just hanging out by yourself, enjoying your

own company, which is something you don’t do hardly at all. Learning to be content and

comfortable on your own is a very important thing to master. It will help keep you from

becoming dependent on friendships and keeping unhealthy friendships alive out of fear of being

alone. I don’t talk to anyone I went to high school with regularly anymore. I mean that literally,

unfortunately. These friends aren’t in the picture nowadays and to be honest, I wish I would’ve

gotten away from them sooner. Focus on your happiness and don’t put up with any crap from

anyone! You give way too many second chances and that leads to diminished self-worth. Learn

when to walk away and never look back. From here I’m going to cross over to romantic

relationships.

You are focusing way too much time and attention on looking for a romantic relationship.

Stop that immediately. First and foremost, you are too young to be focusing on any of that mess.

Secondly, and believe me, when I say, most relationships are way more work than they’re worth.

Stop trying so hard, go with the flow, and whatever you do, don’t get involved in anything

serious until much later in life. You need to focus on creating a future for yourself right now.

Next, I’ll talk about therapy.

Therapy is nothing to be afraid of or ashamed of. Therapy is a great tool that will help

you understand yourself and will give you certain tools and skills to help deal with some life
 Hope 3

situations. I highly encourage you to seek out regular therapy sessions. Finding the right therapist

isn’t going to happen right off the bat. You will go through a few and that’s okay. Next here is a

big one, your financial health.

Your financial health is something you need to start paying attention to now! Start saving

money now! Open a bank account and get a credit card. Start building your credit. Do not abuse

the credit card. Start researching and studying the stock markets and how they work. Once

you’re old enough invest wisely. Now I’m going to talk about one of the most important lessons

you will ever learn, loving yourself.

You must learn to love yourself or you will never truly be happy. Loving yourself comes

easy to some people. However, it’s a lot of work for many others, including you. You may not

realize it right now but loving yourself is something you’re going to struggle with periodically

throughout your life. There will be highs and lows, that pave the road to your self-image. Always

remember, you are who you are for all the right reasons. Only you have the power to accept,

love, and care for yourself. We are still making our way on this path, one day we’ll make it to the

top. Okay, let’s start wrapping this up now.

You must make change happen for yourself. Only you have the power to make a real

difference in your life. You won’t get far from staying in your comfort zone. Now that I’ve

discussed coming out, finding yourself, school, friends, romantic relationships, therapy, financial

health, and loving yourself, you are well prepared for your twenties. Be excited and work hard

for a bright future. Don’t forget to live in the present. Have fun, love yourself and own this mess

we call life. I love you!