Dear­est Seneca,

If you are not the most inde­ci­sive per­son in the world, I really don’t know who is. Or do I?

Mak­ing deci­sions is not exactly your forte, but the ones you have made have been, to put it plainly, quite rash. What looks good on paper is not always every­thing that it is cracked up to be. Think through things calmly, explore, and make deci­sions based on what is true to your core, and not to the fleet­ing desires and ideas of those you sur­round your­self with.

Get rid of all of those com­par­isons that you tend to make. Your name is Seneca, for cry­ing out loud, and, indeed, I have yet to meet some­one who can cap­ture in a word who you are. I sure hope that it remains that way. Never do a job that you do not like; money should not rule your life. But, keep in mind that one day, Dad will ask you to start help­ing to pay for insur­ance, so don’t be ridicu­lous. Do not fear the unknown or the fact that you do not always have a plan or a direc­tion. Life is much like a com­pass, and it will move when you move, so be proac­tive, but don’t feel so locked in for life to every­thing that you do.

Wel­come what comes your way, and grow and change because of it.

Be happy for oth­ers, and always give a lis­ten­ing ear. Find your gut and fol­low it. Read and write as much as you can, and minor in Span­ish. You’re going to want to know how to speak it. Let that silly lit­tle guard down, and allow your­self to be fully loved, and then fully heart­bro­ken. You can be tough, and still have an occa­sional cry. Don’t you ever let a boy fully rule or ruin your mind. They are often more trou­ble than they are worth.

Rec­og­nize that you have always done things in your own time, and will con­tinue to do so.

Stay in the pool! You are a great swim­mer, and you are safest there. Take care of your mind by tak­ing care of your body. You are a strong woman with two arms and two legs that work, and a heart that pumps, and lungs that breathe that deli­cious smoggy Los Ange­les air.

Grow with grace, ele­gance, and matu­rity, but never for­get that you are always one of four KIDS, and are capa­ble of being silly and slightly inap­pro­pri­ate. Sur­round your­self with peo­ple who bring out the very best and most unique lights that shine in you, and spend your life mak­ing peo­ple bet­ter because of every­thing that you are. Be happy for oth­ers, and be happy for and with your own self. Say things with con­vic­tion and pur­pose, and make an impact that is big­ger than being spon­ta­neous with peo­ple you’ve always known in places that you have always been.

Love and appre­ci­ate what a rare gift your fam­ily and friends are. Thank them for that. You are, because they are. You’re learn­ing a lot of lessons, and the road is rocky ahead, but take it from some­one older (and wiser) that things will smooth out. Thank what­ever spir­i­tual body out there in the uni­verse it is that you believe in for all that you have, move for­ward from your mis­takes, and con­tinue to live as the best ver­sion of yourself.

With deep love and four added years of sage wisdom,

Seneca (age 22)

P.S. That tat­too on your right foot looks great.

Name: Seneca Zamora
High School: Louisville High School
Col­leges: Wag­ner Col­lege; Pierce Col­lege; Loy­ola Mary­mount Uni­ver­sity
Now: Peace First Ameri­corps Member

This let­ter was writ­ten as part of the Bet­ter­Grads spe­cial series: "Write a Let­ter to Your High School Self." Con­trib­u­tors are asked to answer ques­tions or con­cerns they may have had in high school, such as "What's the pur­pose of col­lege?" and "Is it worth it?" If you'd like to sub­mit a let­ter for pub­li­ca­tion, please read our edi­to­r­ial guide­lines and let us know here.