Eighteen-Year-Old Christian,

I know it might not seem like it right now, but I promise you that day will come. The day you get over her. The day you wake up and smile, and you may not even remember why. The day will come when you don’t get sad thinking about all the wasted effort you feel. The day will come when you don’t even feel mad about all the stuff you went through. Shoot, you’re even going to laugh about it, and sure you’re going to be a little red of embarrassment, but that’s okay. You get red pretty quickly.

You’re going to date many beautiful girls, and they’re all mostly going to have great personalities. You’re even going to break some hearts of your own. I’m not sure writing you this will stop you from doing that because I’m sure you’re telling yourself you could never do such a thing. Hate to break it to ya, kid; you’re even going to get pretty damn good at it. You will ignore that you have flaws when all you focus on is what you’re getting out of the relationships. You’ll still dream of the fairy tale love, or just the love that you used to see on television. You’ll still have a guilty pleasure of watching romantic comedies wondering if you’re the main character in life. I’ll ruin the secret for you; you’re definitely the main character, bro. You’re only going to get funnier, and you’ll turn some of that arrogance into some sort of charming confidence (sometimes).

Trust me; you’re going to get over her. There are going to be some sucky periods where you hold on to all of your emotions. If I could leave you with one thing, feel them. Embrace them. Deal with it for as long as you need. The worst regret we have is becoming such a good fucking liar with what you’re feeling and how you’re doing. You’re going to become an expert in saying “everything’s good!” when you know deep down that shit isn’t “all good”; it’s crappy sometimes. That’s cool! I can’t imagine having everything be sunshine. How will you learn how to appreciate the calm after the storm?

You’re going to get over it because you’re a fucking goat. You’ll even have your boss call you that now and then. You’re going to make yourself proud because the day will come when you think all you wanted was to get some revenge, but deep down, you figure out that it’s not necessary anymore. Hurt people hurt people is what they say, and you’re not going to be hurt for as long as you think, my boy.

Keep going.

-Older You