This article was first published in May 2021.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. As we grow up, we learn from our mistakes, develop our personalities and discover who we are. If we were to write a letter of advice to our younger self, what would we tell them? What do we know now that we wish we knew then? What have we learned?
For this series of thought-provoking films, we asked eighteen young people to write a letter to their younger selves. This is Dear Younger Me.
Dear younger me,
Most likely you're going to live another seventy odd years and the one thing that would be the same throughout all of them is that you will be you and right now, at fourteen, that sounds like a jail sentence because you hate being you. But it won't always be that way. In just a few years your life will be transformed. So things won't suck forever.
You don't know yourself yet. You're not supposed to because you're only a fifth of the way into your life. Would you say if a movie was good or not a fifth of the way in? No, because you haven't seen most of it.
The things you don't like about yourself now, like your weight, your queerness, your mental illness – they're not bad things and you're not going to change them any time soon. So stop being ashamed of who you are and start being proud of how you've coped, despite the way people have treated you. You recognise and even appreciate those traits in others, so now it's time to give yourself some recognition because you deserve it.
It's important to see the good things in life. Scientists have found that most of our thoughts are negative, which sucks. But now that you know that you can work to change it by doing what you love. Like drawing – you love to draw. It helps to make sense of your thoughts and process what's going on in your head. And the good news is because you draw all the time when you're older, you get to do it as a job, which is amazing.
You can and will be happier if you invest time and energy in yourself. You'll discover that you're not the bad person you think you are.
There's a song lyric I like, "everyone loves you why should they not?" and I'll add why should you not?
From you six years on.
You can and will be happier, if you invest time and energy in yourself.
20–year–old Kit felt ashamed to be himself when he was younger. In this Dear Younger Me, he tells himself that his life will change for the better. He tells his younger self that the things he doesn’t like about himself – like his weight, his queerness and mental illness aren’t bad things and that he won’t change them any time soon. He says stop being ashamed of who he is and be proud of how he has coped, despite the way he has been treated. He tells himself to give himself some recognition, because he deserves it. He says drawing will help him a lot as he loves it and it helps him to make sense of his thoughts.
If you need support
You should always tell someone about the things you’re worried about. You can tell a friend, parent, guardian, teacher, or another trusted adult. If you're struggling with your mental health, going to your GP can be a good place to start to find help. Your GP can let you know what support is available to you, suggest different types of treatment and offer regular check-ups to see how you’re doing.
If you’re in need of in-the-moment support you can contact Childline, where you can speak to a counsellor. Their lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
There are more links to helpful organisations on the BBC Bitesize Action Line page for young people.
Dear Younger Me: Qezz
If you wrote a letter to your younger self, what would it say? This is Qezz's letter.
Dear Younger Me: Amy
If you wrote a letter to your younger self, what would it say? This is Amy's letter.
Dear Younger Me: How letter-writing can help your mental health
Writing a letter to a younger version of you that went through a hard time can really help you - here's how.
