From time to time in the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking about a question famous people are often asked: Knowing how far you’ve come, what advice would you give your teenage self? 

I’m imagining my future self sitting opposite the interviewer. I’m wondering what she looks like, what work she’s doing, how happy she is. 

What advice would she give me? Perhaps to chill out, relax a bit and not overthink so much. Probably, to stop procrastinating. 

After much thought, I’ve concluded that no piece of advice will prepare me for the upcoming. The passing days are different from one another, and the uncertainty of life guarantees ever-changing information. And, generic hallmark-type phrases instructing me to “filter out the negativity” definitely don’t help. 

I’ll be graduating high school next week, and looking back; I realize that setbacks have encouraged me to do better.

I guess what I’m trying to say is: we all need to accept that we will never be 100 percent comfortable in life. Advice from our future selves won’t change our past selves. I’m thankful for the endless nights, uncomfortable situations, odd thoughts, mess-ups, heartbreak. I’m happy that things went wrong. The difficulty I’ve dealt with has only helped me feel a little more comfortable with myself. 

And so, after experiencing years of pain, which continues to strike, all I want to do now is embrace my wounded heart and continue living because living means overcoming. And worrying about the future is a waste of time when the present can bring solace to a horrifying imagination.

My future self won’t offer me advice, she’ll only encourage me to keep going.