Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Love, Lose, and Love Some More

4-25-12

Lauren,

Hey.  I want to talk to you a little about love.  Love is a broad topic, so let me narrow it down a bit for you.  I'm talking about the sappy, boy-meets-girl, romantic movie kind of love.  At 13, you probably don't know much about this kind of love; I know I didn't at your age.  But trust me, one day you'll find out.

When you're older and finally have that moment where you're like "Hey, I really LOVE this guy," it'll be one of the best moments in your life (well, usually, unless he doesn't love you back. . .that's a whole other letter topic).  I had a moment like this.  It happened right at the end of my high school career.  You probably know whow I'm talking about, but for his privacy I'll leave him nameless.

Loving someone and being in a relationship can be a great thing.  I had a lot of fun times and fond memories with this person.  It can also be a great learning experience, too. You learn a lot about yourself as part of a couple, but you learn a lot about yourself as an individual, too.

Of course, with love comes loss.  This is almost a given.  This is what really sits heavy on my mind today.  On what would've been a big milestone, I'm forced to face what I have lost.  It's kind of bittersweet because on one hand, it was a great loss, and a terrible one, because that person meant a lot to me. But on the other hand, that loss opened the door for me to discover so many great things about myself as an individual.  I hate to say it, but you'll probably figure out what I mean someday.  I just hope that if you do, you come out on the other side as a better, stronger person like I did.

So today I'll probably take a little time to remember.  But then I'll also take time to remember why it ended, and how that got me to where I am today.  I love who I am now, and as they say, until you can love yourself, no one else can.

Love,

Meghan

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

He-Said, She-Said

4-17-12

Lauren,

Hey.  It took me a while, but I am finally back with a new letter.  Sometimes you just have to take a break from something before you can get any new ideas and move on with it.  That's what I had to do with this.  Sometimes the thoughts just come to me, other times I have to sit back and wait for them to show themselves.

Today I come back with an interesting topic, one that you would think would die as you get older.  But rest assured, gossip and drama never die, not even with age or maturity.  No matter what you do to get rid of it in your life, it will find a way back in.  It can be through something someone else said or done, it can be because of how you react to something, it can be because it was fabricated for someone else's gain.  Either way, drama never dies.  In the past few days, at 24 years old, I've found myself tangled up in something like this.  It's not the first time it's happened (I am a girl, and as a girl, it happens a lot). In the past, I might have been the one to start it, unfortunately.  But in the past few months I've buried anything or any relationships that had caused me the "need" for drama.  It's very peaceful.  So how, you might ask, have I found myself in the middle of something lately? He-said, she-said stuff.  I'm telling you now, stay away from it.  It's no fun.

I think how we react to things, like drama, partially defines who we are as people.  It's a thought I've considered greatly over the last few weeks, and care to discuss more in depth at another time.  How do you react to drama and gossip? At 13, I know it's got to be prevalent in your everyday life.  Learn from me and my friends.  Don't spread rumors, don't start stuff, and don't be the bully.  It's nothing you should be proud of.

Keep your head up!

Love,

Meghan

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Solitude

3-31-12

Lauren,

Life can be a little overwhelming sometimes. It's not rare that people get caught up in their everyday routines, and all together forget what it's like to enjoy a little solitude every now and then.

I've found myself enjoying quite a bit of solitude lately despite the hustle and bustle of my everyday life.  For me, this is a big accomplishment.  It wasn't that long ago that I found myself restless and unable to cope with the quietness of being by myself.  Back then, if I even spent one day at home by myself I would find myself searching for some way out of it, contacting any friend I could to find some peace.  Here I am today, though.  My best friend is out of town, my phone sits silently next to me, and I am able to sit here and write in a quiet house.  And I do this all knowing that I have no plans ahead of me for the day.  It's kind of a great feeling.

People aren't just overwhelmed by everyday routines, though.  They are also swamped with emotions, and those things that cause those emotions.  This is the thing I find myself dealing with again.  The stresses that come with things like responsibility, health and friendships are all things that I am facing right now.  I wouldn't say that I'm exactly struggling, but it I don't deal with these stresses in the right way, I may find myself overwhelmed and consumed by them in the future.  Know what I mean?

I hope you are able to enjoy some solitude like I have been able to lately.  Every now and then we need a little time alone to remember who we are, and to do those things that, by ourselves, keep us grounded and in the right place.

Keep your head up!

Love,

Meghan