Dear 16 year old me.

Dear 16 year old me.
Everything you think to be important right now, isn't.
Those girls you want to chase, the ones you think are beautiful. Well, they are beautiful, on the outside. On the inside they are (for the most part) shallow, insecure, lonely, lost, just like you are. They look like they have everything going for them, but they don't. It will take them years to get their lives straight, same as you.
Don't stress about finding the right woman, you will, when you are ready, and oddly enough, you will find her in the least likely place. She will walk into your life and change everything in a way you really don't think is possible. You will love her for it, even when she does things that just make you shake your head.
Pay attention in school! Yes, you learned how to read before you hit Kindergarten, but your spelling and grammar have sucked ever since. Learn to use a comma. Yes...I know it all sounds like the parents speaking on an episode of Peanuts, but try harder. It's much easier to learn now, than when you have just turned 39. Trust me on this one.
Start writing, you will love this. You didn't know it at the time, but you have creativity inside you. In fact, it is bursting out of you. Find the outlet. Make it happen. You will be pretty bad (and good) at it at first, but keep going. You have a knack for it and others will actually enjoy your stories. Tell them.
PUT. DOWN. THE. VIDEO. GAMES.
Did I make myself clear? Sure, some of your best ideas came from playing games, and those same games do offer you a chance to relax and drop the stresses of your day, but so does writing. The world you will open up inside yourself is a rare thing, a treasure. It is no different than walking down a creek bed and finding a pretty stone laying among the cast offs. Yet you can do it at will. Some of the days will be hard, trust me here, but others will make you smile. Even better, there are some people out there who will pay you to do that writing. If you start at it soon enough, you may even be able to make a career out of it. The choice is up to you.
I know where I have spent the last 18 years, you aren't happy there, even though you are good at it. You like helping people, it's in your blood, but one at a time isn't the answer. Your books can help other people escape the doldrums of their lives, you can help them in different ways.
Put down the controller. Pick up a pen, or find a word program on your computer. I know you have one. And...Get writing!