Saturday, July 10, 2010

Dear 17 Year Old Me,

Inspired by Weasel Momma and the fact that tonight is my 30 year hs reunion, Hail Good Counsel High! I've thrown together a few thoughts that my younger self may have appreciated hearing back then.



Dear 17 Year Old Me,

Let's just get right to the point, because over the next thirty years you will not mince words. That will not always be a good thing, but eh, a spade is a spade. MJC is not your soul mate, he will make your life a living hell, although you won't see it for many years. Please, for the love of God, give him back the opal pre-engagement ring he gave you for graduation and run! The opal will in time crack which is a definite sign of things to come. What you don't know now is that abuse comes in many forms. He is abusive, it will be ugly. But I must be completely honest with you, you will survive and in the end you will come out a stronger and better person and those two kids you will have are pretty amazing.

Stay in school! Get loans, beg, borrow, steal if you must. OK stealing's a bit extreme. Do whatever it takes to finish your degree. Screw accounting, you have way too much personality to count beans the rest of your life. You are a care-giver by nature, there I said it, because none of the hs counselors ever did. Major in Early Education, there will be an unbelievable need for quality daycare in the future or try nursing. Wait, have you ever considered Journalism or Communications, maybe Marketing? Do it now!

Your mother will never change. Oh you'll think you have a better relationship for a while, but she will always be the same. Your father on the other hand will try to move Heaven and earth for you. Spend more time with him, he's gone way too soon and things will never be the same.

Spread your wings, expand your horizon, there's a great big world out there. Travel, give back to the community. There is an amazing satisfaction in helping those less fortunate than you. Trust me, someone always has it worse than you do.

Count your blessings, be thankful for them, they can be gone in the blink of an eye.

Life is not a competition. Bury the green eyed monster and truly be happy for your friends, they've earned it, they deserve it. And if they're tossing it in your face all nanny nanny boo boo style, they are not your friends. Dump their sorry asses and move on.

Don't be too proud or ashamed to ask for help.

Embrace your crazy hair! A round brush, some great product and a decent blow dryer will work miracles.

Find that Best Dressed Award you won senior year and put it in your senior yearbook now! No one will ever believe you in the future without solid proof.

Watch what you eat! Now you're young. You're beautiful. But right around 30 your metabolism will take a shit. Starve yourself if you must, because you ain't gonna like the package you're in at 47.

In the end, you'll do as you please, you always do. There will be some regrets. There will always be the what ifs. You're probably freaking out at all that I've dumped in your lap right now. Just know that whatever you do, we're happy now. It's taken a while, but seriously we're happy. And that is what matters most.

Love you!
An Older, Wiser Me
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10 comments:

Lola said...

Great post! I think I'll have to steal the idea for a future post.

Meghan said...

Totally love your sr. photo! This is a great idea for a post too. I like what you had to say...'specially about your mother never changing.

PS: I left you an award on my blog!

Cranberry Morning said...

That was a great post! Isn't it interesting what we learn as we get older - about ourselves, about others, and what really matters.

Mari said...

This is a great post. Wouldn't it be great if we really could write a letter to our younger selves??
Not that I would have listened, LOL. I thought I knew everything.

Terra Heck said...

I can still see the resemblence from your school photo to what you look like today. Love the letter you wrote to self. Isn't it amazing the lessons we learn well after the fact!

tracey.becker1@gmail.com said...

Best Dressed! I love it. That is totally something you should have saved!

You look exactly the same!! I love seeing pictures from high school. :)

Noreen said...

I laughed and cried when I read this .... and thought "how true how true!"

Anna Blanch said...

What a wonderful heartfelt letter to your younger self. I really appreciate the vulnerable honesty. I'm about to turn thirty and it got me thinking about what i might tell my younger self.

I am Harriet said...

Saw Lola's post and I had to check yours out.
What a great idea!

Hope you are having a great summer!

Tarheel Rambler said...

You probably already know this, but Brad Paisley has a song, Letter to Me, about just this. It's funny, but I think many of us would say pretty much the same things to our younger selves. Unfortunately, I would probably blow it off the way I did most of the advice my elders tried to give me.

This is a great post. The bottom line I think is to embrace all of your life experiences, good and bad, because they are all part of what makes you who you are. Too bad there's no time machine for do-overs. :0)

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