hello 16-year-old me.

dear 16-year-old me,
you don't need to keep your hair so long, i promise it'll still look good and long with a few more inches cut off.
dear 16-year-old me,
hold onto your friendships, bc they will mean the world later on.
dear 16-year-old me,
make more of an effort to hang out with your parents, bc you won't have many more years left at home.
dear 16-year-old me,
start pursuing what you're passionate about now.
dear 16-year-old me,
having a boyfriend is not the most important thing in the world.
dear 16-year-old me,
the SAT and ACT are really stupid, so don't let it get you down if you don't do well. (you're still going to get accepted to every college you apply to)
dear 16-year-old me,
don't go to the tanning bed. yes, you look better with a tan, but it's going to double my chances of getting melanoma.
dear 16-year-old me,
please use sun screen. a little is better than nothing.
dear 16-year-old me,
when you're 19 you'll go to the doctor to get a spot checked out on your nose. she'll say the word skin cancer and you'll block everything else out as that pit in your stomach grows.
dear 16-year-old me,
don't be scared. this isn't about being scared. it's about being informed.
dear 16-year-old me,
she'll give you lots of information and explain how this time she can burn it off and it should be okay. but she'll also explain to you how you're chances of having more are now likely. she'll explain to you the need to be more careful in the sun.
dear 16-year-old me,
this is not melanoma. but this is a warning.
dear 16-year-old me,
i know you love being tan, but don't worry, you will end up going to college in hawaii and you can be tan year round. so don't be so careless about your skin now. it is important to be the most cautious when you are younger.
dear 16-year-old me,
i know you're not actually going to see this, but someone else will and maybe they will be more careful.
dear someone else,
please be careful. use sunscreen. i promise you, sunscreen is much better than cancer.