A letter to 16 year old me…(trigger warnings)

[Corndog]

(I’d like to first say that I’m new to this and I apologize if this is posted in the wrong place)

Dear 16 year old Corndog,

I wanted to tell you some of the things you were never told growing up. That you are more loved and important than you realize. I write this close to an anniversary of something that happened, something that you will be blamed for because “you were at the wrong place at the wrong time.” I wanted to tell you that even if you feel your world crashing and crumbling down around you, You’re gonna make it and be okay. You see, “something” will happen at school and as a result, you’ll be expelled despite the fact you are one of the people that “something” will happen to. You’re already struggling because life at home hasn’t been kind. As a result, you consider ending it. So you call your friend who moved away and left you, and you tell them everything, even how they made you feel. They tell your mom, and they also talk you out of it, but they’ll eventually ghost you with no explanation.

So you get forced into therapy with a therapist who doesn’t understand what you need, and it sucks. However, you go to a new school with teachers who may seem harsh, but eventually see that you’re not “one of the bad ones.” One of them even helps you and encourages you, and it’s nice. Life goes on, you get back into your old school and you coast on by til graduation, but there’s so much more I have to tell you about.

You get into online gaming and you meet someone who becomes “your world” and they’re amazing. You’ll fall for them, but time and distance are a cruel mistress, especially at both of your ages. You’ll still talk to them for years, until one day they disappear suddenly. You’ll eventually learn that they passed. They got very sick and never got better. It’s gonna devastate you, because they didn’t have the heart to tell you that this was happening. They wanted to protect you, but you will be angry, rightfully so. You never get the chance to say goodbye and it haunts you still.

I write out all of this to tell you that you did well for yourself in spite of the things you’ve went through. You become an advocate for Mental Health, and you start streaming, for the love of videogames and telling people it’s okay to not be okay. You open up more and talk about your life experiences to tell others that there’s so much more out there than hurt. I am and will always be proud of you for finding your way through the darkness.

With love, and compassion,
31 yr old Corndog

[Sita]

I’m proud of 16yo @Corndog and the wonderfully compassionate 31yo we are fortunate to have with us in this community! Hopefully your words can bring comfort to those who are in similar dark places and need to hear that things can get better.
Thank you for sharing this. You’re loved and you matter!

[Mystrose]

I hope that all the young people on this support forum read your post. It will give them hope and help them to look at things differently.

It sounds like you are doing well and I think making it to where you are today after all you’ve been thru is very inspirational. Thank you for sharing.

[ManekiNeko]

To echo @Mystrose i hope that many people who read this are impacted for the better. This was so incredible to read, thank you for sharing it here and for being so open.
It’s an important message to everyone. You’re loved x

[Corndog]

Thank you all for the kind words. I just hope that people will see this and realize there is so much more out there for themselves. There will always be days or even weeks where you struggle with something that’s going on around you. I try to tell myself “everyday is a new opportunity for you to do great things” Plus, writing letters to your past or future self feels alleviating. For instance, I’d like to think that if I write to my future self, let’s say 6 months from now, I’d want to read that letter again in 6 months to see how different things are, even small differences help!

[Solemnis]

From: 𝕊𝕠𝕝𝕖𝕞𝕟𝕚𝕤

You can be proud of yourself for surviving everything you went through, for being brave and never giving up despite all the things life threw at you to deal with. You have such a long way behind you and grown so much. Thank you for opening up and make others feel like they can also overcome their hurdles.

[lunxaire]

Man, I’d be lying if I said this didn’t bring tears to my eyes.

You’ve overcome so many hardships in such little time. I’m so proud to see how you’ve pulled through and became a voice to help others. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I hope things are well for you. I’m glad you found a passion to take pride in like streaming. Thank you for everything you do for people struggling with Mental Health.