To my 13-year-old Self

If I could tell my 13-year-old self one thing, it would be to think about what she writes. Even if she's upset and angry and writing in what she thinks is a private diary. Because the written word survives, and it might end up hurting someone. Diaries are mislaid and turn up years later.

It is a bizarre experience to be confronted with something you wrote in a rage 10 years ago. Mainly because you really want to give the person who wrote it a slap. Thing is, people change. Feelings change. My 13-year-old self isn't me, not really. She lived, thought and experienced things very differently from me. Her priorities were different. Her life was different. She loved and hated very different things. She was short tempered, mean and stupid. And she could turn ink into poison.

From what I remember of the time, writing was a way of blowing off steam. I couldn't talk to my parents, wasn't allowed to shout, and NOBODY UNDERSTOOD ME. No teenager ever had the same experiences I did. Or something.

Writing to blow off steam?

Here's how to do it right.

Put all your feelings to the paper. Don't hold back. Get everything.
Once it's done, set it on fire. Watch all the negative energy burn away and disappear. You don't need it. Negative thoughts are not worth keeping. Who knows, you might even feel better.