For my Sister

Today on Aplomborama, the non-stop awesome is taking a backseat, but we'll return to our regular scheduled nonsense soon enough! Don't worry.

EDIT: You can find my sister's original post here. Check out her other stuff too. She's a smart gal.

Moo-

You're beautiful, and you're strong.

You are one of the most solid, well grounded teenagers I think I know. Not that I know that many teenagers but hey, I was one once not too long ago, so I think I can still say. Yeah, I can. And I did. You are about to take one of the best steps in growing up. High School is everything right now. Every thing feels so large and important. It's a hard thing to realize right now, but getting out of the high school world is such a freeing experience.

You don't have to be afraid. Everything may be loomy and dark and scary on the horizon, but I promise you you don't have anything to fear. You may be physically distancing yourself from friends, but they won't go away. I promise. It can be a refreshing thing to see an old friend and laugh about the same old things. You will definitely be able to make new friends, or I'll eat my pants. Every pair of them. And your family definitely isn't going anywhere. You and I are lucky to have been born to parents who have an endless well of love and support. You cannot be too far away from them to feel that love and warmth and support. They're always there if you need them. Even if you can't see them or have slap fights with them.

Don't worry about making friends. If you do something you love, you'll meet other people who love doing that same thing. You don't have to worry about that at all. Join a club. Getting involved in a group can be one of the best things you can do in school. For your brother and I, it was marching band, otherwise known as 300 instant friends.

Mom and Dad are smart. This is a truth that I feel I've only just started to realize the extent of. There's a reason you shared a room for as long as you did. And if you can live with Nicole, you can live with anybody. And maybe you don't get along with your roommate. With any luck, you'll be out of your room meeting new people and having fun that you won't even notice.

You will hate classes. That's another thing I can promise you. But there is also much greater freedom to choose. Pick things that interest you. Chase wild fancies. You want to learn about Anthropology? Biology? Psychology? Indulge your passing curiosities. The title of your Blog says that. Stay true to that. But there will be classes you hate. But there's always something to learn, even from those classes. And don't worry about graduating college when you aren't even out of high school yet. (Your blood pressure probably can't handle it)

Embrace all of the learning opportunities given to you right now. You probably will mess up; College is a very forgiving world, however. Part of the learning experience is falling on your butt, dusting yourself off, and trying again. Trial and error. That's the best part of being on your own! Finding out what works and what doesn't. It's all new experiences and it's all good for you. Start by applying to as many schools as you can. My one regret about the college application process is that I only applied to two schools. Apply and apply and apply until your hand falls off. It's a pain in the butt(it's such a pain in the butt), but you may be surprised at the results and ultimately will just have greater control of where you want to direct yourself in this phase of your life.

Just because you haven't ever had a job doesn't mean you haven't "worked a day in your life." Trust me, you have learned much more about work ethic and self-discipline than 80 per cent of people your age. Or my age, even. And you certainly don't have to worry about "supporting" yourself. You aren't at the point where that is an issue yet.

As for knowing what you want to do with your life: I'm on the verge of graduating college and I still don't know what I want to do with my life. Rather than worry about it though, let it be a journey. You will do something with your life, but not every moment needs to be meticulously planned and executed. You will figure it out. If not now, then later.

You will leave memories behind, but it's the chance to make new memories that makes the trip worth it.

You would be surprised how far a polite "No, thank you" will go. And people will respect you for that.

If you stay faithful and strong, you will become everything that God wants you to be, and that's greater than anything we could have planned out for ourselves.

You're wonderful, and everything's going to be good. I promise. And I'm always here if you need anything.

Your Brother.