I just have to express my gratitude for the beautiful weather we have right now in San Jose. I complain to my husband all the time that “it’s nice, but it’s not San Diego!” and I’ll admit that’s a rude and bratty thing to say.

When we moved here and told people we came from San Diego, we got a lot of strange looks. Because let’s be honest here … why would anyone ever want to leave beachy San Diego for a (slightly) harsher climate that’s even MORE expensive? It sounds crazy, right? But I have to admit, as we cruised through town with our windows down last Saturday, I felt incredibly grateful for the colder winter months we just experienced. We didn’t have crazy snowstorms like most of the country, but our little cold front was just chilly enough to make me grateful for the coming of spring.

Good heavens, it’s March 5th and Jack even wore shorts today for the first time this year. I’m sitting here in flip flops. The blossoms are in full bloom here and the grassy hills behind our house are a vibrant shade of green. It sure makes our walks delightful and makes me so grateful for this beautiful, changing world we live in.

And now to the real part of this post. This is part of an on-going series I’ll be writing to my children. See all of them here.

List 10 things you would tell your 16-year old self, if you could.

1. Aside from your naturally long, curly eyelashes, your smile is your best feature. Share it more often.
2. You’re not going to marry either of those boys you’re dating, but love them with all of your heart anyway. They will become good men and you will be changed forever from your experiences with them.
3. Sadly, you will never end up kissing Dan Dan the Tuba Man. Cut your losses and move on.
4. Be nicer to your parents. Buy your Mom flowers on your way home from band practice, and write your Dad a nice letter. They will be putting up with a lot from you in the next year.
5. Congratulations! At the end of the year, you’ll find out you passed the AP English test. It will prove to you that hard work, a lot of diligent studying, and a foot tall stack of memorized flashcards pays off.
6. In addition to 6:15am seminary, start a habit of personal daily gospel study. You’ll thank me years later when it becomes even more difficult to form this habit.
7. I know you like to be in relationships, but also remember to enjoy being an individual and enjoy alone time. Soon you will be married and have children of your own, and you won’t get opportunities to do things just for yourself very often. Enjoy the time you have now to focus on just YOU.
8. Continue to make art a priority in your life. You’ll end up majoring in it.
9. Keep writing daily in that journal of yours. It will bring peace and will clear your mind.
10. Eight years from now, you will have accomplished some incredible things. They won’t necessarily be in the form of a prestigious award or a successful career outside the home, but you will be much closer to becoming the woman you’ve always dreamed of becoming. You’re going to hit a few roadblocks and have heartaches and experience the deep sting of loss, but you need that to grow. Stay positive and you’ll end up amazing yourself with how strong you actually are.