Dear Sixteen Year Old Sibby

“Dear sixteen year old Sibby,

Everything is going to be OK.

Sincerely,

Future Sibby.”

When first prompted to write a letter to my sixteen year old self I was initially excited. There were so many things I wanted to share with me. I would start with the sad and then go straight into the ‘funny’. I imagine us rolling around on the floor laughing together until we cried. Then the realisation of what would happen if I were to disclose of future events to the past me, because things actually turned out alright in the end.

The sixteen year old me had a hard time growing up. My parents didn’t like me very much and I was a bad kid. My id complex was extremely curious with an unrelenting desire for mischief. At the age of five I discovered I could climb the fence and escape. I remember the thrill of freedom as I ran up the road until someone realised I was missing. Yes, fun for me but not so much for my mother, and then it was not fun for me. There was also the time I took my bike out and decided it would be more convenient if I did not wear a helmet. I fell off, cracked my head open on the curb and went into a coma for three days. I was very good at making my parents unhappy.

Skipping over a few years, I am now fourteen. I am also master shoplifter. That is until I got caught by Mr Grace from ‘Graces Lottery and Newsagent (Of Really Fun Things to Steal)’.

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

I nod.

“Is that your bike outside?”

“Yes.” I reply.

“How would you like it if I came to your house and stole your brand new bike?”

Never before have I seen my father so disappointed and for the first time, he was speechless. I sat there silent with the table lamp angled directly onto my face. In my fathers eyes I was a terrorist and I had no explanation for my behaviour. He stared at me for a long time until finally sending me to my room.

Two years later and it is the year I finally turn sixteen and I know absolutely everything there is to know about anything because as teens, we are so smart and so full of wisdom. I move out of home and spend the next five years character building and testing my immense knowledge. During this time I would have liked for someone to tell me that everything is going to be okay.

Sibby x

Posted by teapot 4 two on January 7, 2012

https://teapot4two.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/dear-sixteen-year-old-sibby/