“20-something” is what I’m going to be for the next several years. We never think of ourselves as wise in our 20s because old and wise go hand-in-hand. But we’re definitely a little wiser and a little less fragile than we were five or six years ago. If I could go back and give myself some advice, these are the most important things I would say:

1. Don’t cry over him, it doesn’t work out in the end.
2. Those girls aren’t worth the drama; you get left behind in the end. But you find better friends.
3. Listen to more throwbacks, you still love them.
4. Sing a little louder in the shower; your voice doesn’t get any better but you never try out for a musical, so who cares?
5. Dance a little more, even when people are watching.
6. Read another chapter, you never get too angry at yourself for staying awake another half hour.
7. Make a few of your own mistakes and stop trying to learn everything from everyone else’s.
8. Cook more, in a few years you’ll miss home-cooked meals.
9. Don’t worry so much about what people think about you, people don’t think about you as much as you think they do.
10. Spend as much time with Mammaw as possible, she doesn’t have as long as you think.
11. Quit being so afraid to mess up, you do enough that you get acquainted with it.
12. You don’t have to shut people out all the time, you still do this.
13. Volunteer to help your mom more, you’ll miss the days she made you help clean the house before you left.
14. Don’t buy everything in pink and green, grey is really your favorite color.
15. You don’t have to worry so much about what you look like, you dress like a bum now and no one says anything about it.
16. Start taking your coffee black, that’s the best way.
17. Make time to play a little more golf with grandpa, you lose your touch.
18. Pray a little more.
19. You grew up really fast, you’re allowed to be a kid sometimes.
20. Keep laughing every day, it always makes the bad days a little bit sweeter.