A Letter To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self

Dear Aleisha at 19 years,

You've been dating "Jason" (name has been changed to protect the idiotic) for a while now.  He tirelessly pursued you--doted on you as if you were the only chick on the planet--and within a matter of months...Bam!...you were an inseparable item.  Now, you are preparing to celebrate Valentine's Day together.  Dinner reservations will be made, a piano concert will follow pasta, and there will be hot "canoodling" before the night's end.  He'll give you roses and a ridiculously stupid, plush cow the size of a wheelbarrow, and you'll think he's pretty terrific.

But don't be fooled.

Don't be fooled by his "rico suave" good looks, or by the sweet-nothings he whispers into your ear.  Don't be fooled by his extensive knowledge of Tupac, or the way he smiles when you walk into a room.  Truth be told, he visits the tanning beds regularly, kisses his biceps before bedtime, and is enamored with his Toyota Corolla.  (A Corolla?!)  Don't be fooled into thinking you are in love with him...

Because he's been sucking face with "Melinda" (name has been changed to protect the ugly) behind the Coke machines in her office's break room.  Yep, the girl with no personality, bad highlights, heavy makeup, and a nose that resembles a bird's beak.  Melinda and Jason have been sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G for a while now.

I know you, and I know you've got a tender heart.  I know when the blinding shock of betrayal wears off your feelings will be hurt.  Naturally, you'll want to cry and cry...but can I offer a bit of advice?

Don't waste your time crying over a boy who wasn't good enough for you, who was NEVER good enough for you.  It doesn't seem possible now, but time and faith will be the glue that will put your broken pieces back together.  You'll walk away from "Tupac and Corollas" a stronger woman.

Oh, there will be others.  Other boys.  Other stolen kisses.  Other love notes.  Other romances.  Other late night talks in campus parking lots.  There will be flirting in library cubicles and hand-holding in movie theaters.  There will be first dates and last dates.  Other break-ups.  Other heart breaks.  With the end of each relationship, you'll learn something valuable about yourself.  You'll become a better version of  yourself.  You'll learn more about what you want and deserve in a companion.  You'll resign yourself to never settle.

And you won't.

He'll have dark brown eyes that will knock you off your feet, and a kind smile that will melt your heart to a puddle.  He'll be tall and lanky.  He'll be smart and athletic.  He'll laugh at your jokes.  He'll have nice lips.  He'll kiss you so you feel it in your kneecaps.  He'll propose marriage.  He'll whisper, "You're beautiful," on your wedding day.  He'll take care of you and support you in times of trial.  He'll be patient.  He'll cry when your beautiful daughter is born.  His face will radiate joy when you welcome a son into the world.  He'll teach you all about what real love is; what it means to trust it, to feel it in your core.  I know you think you know about all of that already, but Girl, it hasn't even hit you yet.

It will.

In the meantime, Happy Valentine's Day.  Take care of that heart of yours.  It's a good one.
Love,
Aleisha at 31 years