A Letter to Me :: What I Wish I Knew at 22 Years Old

We all have those moments, when we see a picture of ourselves from years past and are transformed to a different time.  For me, it is a time, before kiddos, when I could have been carefree and didn’t appreciate what I had.  Given the chance, what would I tell myself?

Dear 22 year old know-it-all,

Girl, I am going to be frank…you do not know how good you have it.  Someday, you will wake up to little persons crawling into bed with you at unreasonable hours.  Someday you will have to go to work and feel the guilt only a mom can feel when their little cries for them to stay.  So until that someday…enjoy being carefree.  Enjoy drinking coffee when it’s hot and leisurely waking up.  These are the little things you will miss, but happily trade for hugs, sloppy kisses and unconditional love from the little babies you will create. 

I know the smallest hiccups in your life feel like the end of the world right now, but they aren’t.  I promise, you will survive…I am proof of it.   Do yourself (and me) a favor and learn from it.  That bad date, 10 years from now, won’t matter. That girl who you think is your ride or die, she may fun and all, but take her with a grain of salt and remember girls can be mean; the ones that really matter will be there in the end.  Also, don’t be one of the mean girls; I know it sounds silly, but build up other ladies, we all need it. 

Keep making questionable fashion and beauty choices, you don’t know what #TBT is yet, but that colorful eye shadow and costume jewelry will make for funnies later in life.  Go out and have fun and enjoy those hangovers now, because when you are in your thirties they are a whole different beast, and not worth it. 

On a serious note, visit your grandparents more, there will be a time they aren’t around anymore and you will miss them everyday.  Also, pick up the phone and call the people you love; you never know when you are going to lose someone. 

If you listen to nothing else, remember that things will fall into place.  I know there will be days that this seems so from the truth, but keep faith lady.  I promise you, everything will be a-okay. 

Love,

Your older, wiser self

When deciding to write this post, I wasn’t sure I would get anything out if it.  It was oddly therapeutic to remember times past and it made me so proud of where this life has taken me thus far.  Would I have listened to these words at 22?  Probably not.  But maybe that is a good thing, because I wouldn’t be the person I am without the choices I have made.  What would you tell your younger self?