Dear Nina

You know that Brad Paisley song where  he sings about writing a letter to his 17 year old self? Well that concept has always intrigued me. The idea of being able to go back in time and give yourself some advice. Some introspect into life and how to deal with things. I was thinking about it today and there are so many things I would say to my young self so here it goes...

Dear Nina
Sweet, innocent, so nice, beautiful Nina. Hahahaha jk okay let me start again.

Dear Nina,
It's me. You as an old lady writing yourself a letter filled with advice and life lessons that might come in handy over the next 20 years or so.
Okay so first of all young lady stop ditching school! You are way smarter than you realize and someday  you might have something cool to offer to this world you need to spend more time studying and less time on the phone...just like your dad says. A good education is important and you really need to focus.

You really need to spend more time with your family. Stop feeling like you have to be with your friends 24 hours a day. Those people who live in your house? They aren't going to be around for long you need to spend as much time with them as you can. You need to tell them you love them more often and you need to listen when your parents tell stories of their childhood. Maybe even take notes, your memory isn't going to be so great in the future. Speaking of your family, you need to embrace your culturee, you really need to learn more about it, ask questions, learn some of the language. Be proud to be Sicilian, later on in life you will regret not knowing more.
Don't be so lazy, get more active. You need to exercise not just to be in shape but to feel better later on. Don't rely on diet pills to keep you in shape. You will wish you had never tried them later.
Loosen up. Don't be such a prude. Life is an adventure, and it's really short so start living. Have fun, take more chances and get out and see the world. Believe it or not California doesn't end in Huntington Beach, you can actually just keep going! You can jump in the car anytime and drive where ever you want. Take more risks. 
Get to know your grandparents on both sides better, like really talk to them, ask questions. Find out where you come from, who your ancestors were. Some of their lives were probably pretty interesting.
The most important thing I can tell you is to be prepared. Life gets tough. Sometimes you don't think you can do it. Sometimes things hurt so bad you just want to crawl in a hole. When your heart aches so bad you can't breathe, just relax. It will get better. You will see more than your share of heartache, you will lose lots of people that you love.
Oh and I know it's crazy, but when you are dating this guy Chris for only 30 days and he asks you to marry him? Totally go for it. It will be what makes your life worth living. People will think your crazy but trust me it works.
Love,
Me