Dear teenage daughter,

If you can’t be honest, check the direction you’re heading in.

Appreciate everything—you could lose it all tomorrow.

If you feel like you need to change who you are, find new friends.

Set the precedent and respect yourself first; then others will respect you, too.

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If you need him in order to feel beautiful, take a break and love yourself first.

Work for it and don’t expect it—earning it is satisfying.

If you feel scared, decipher why and make a change.

You should be able to have genuine conversations with your friends, if not, find new ones.

If you feel uncomfortable, you’re around the wrong crowd.

Focus on making the memories that will carry you through rough days ahead because there will be rough days.

Needing help with a problem does not counteract being independent.

Smile—it costs nothing but is worth so much.

Take the picture, no matter how you are feeling. One day, it will be the only thing left of that moment.

Use less, it means more . . . unless it’s kindness, then pile it on.

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Never assume you know what someone is thinking—people are complicated.

Most importantly, never, ever forget how much I love you.

Originally published on the author’s blog