1. This is not the largest you will ever be.
2. Your bones are still growing. Maybe. And one day your plates will disappear regardless of if you can reach the sky or not.
3. Your heart will be the same size it is today when the boy with the impossibly blue eyes breaks your heart. It will not shrink. It will not shrivel. It never truly swelled when he kissed you on the lips (twice for good measure). Your ribcage will not weaken; only dip into your body when you curl up on your lumpy, abused mattress and cry yourself to sleep.
4. Stop crying. Impossibly Blue Eyes is not coming back. Your muscles are just as strong without him.
5. Your chest is powerful. Your sternum is made up of three components and you have twelve ribs for protection. The wind will not tear through your armour. Let your guard down once in a while. Learn that not every stranger is as unkind as your mother made you believe.
6. Listen to your mother. Even when you grow to an awkward five feet and eight inches and tower over her, she is still far bigger than you.
7. Quit trying to be tiny. Accept that numbers are artificial but your hips are not. Own your allotted space. Breathe in as much oxygen as you can until you feel real again.
8. It is okay to make mistakes. It is okay to fail. When your lungs have reached their full potential and your heart has picked up a steady rhythm, they are the only way you can grow.
9. This is not the largest you will ever be. You are young; stop worrying that you are not enough. When your bones have shrunk and your hair has greyed and your lungs are meticulously choosing the taste of your last breath, you will take up more space than you ever have before. Your spirit will be a masterpiece of every bruise, scrape, and heartache you paint onto your skin every day you are alive.
