If you had told 10-year-old Maddie Market what 19-year-old Maddie Market would be like, she never would have believed you. In these 19 years, I have vowed to never do some things. As it turns out, 10-year-olds have no idea what 19-year-olds like to do.
1. Go to a liberal arts college.
I thought for sure that I would end up at a state school. I wanted UW-Madison or the University of Minnesota. I found UW-Eau Claire and fell in love. Then I was accepted into Luther College. Located in a sleepy little town in northeastern Iowa, Luther is the exact fit for me. I also said I would never go to Iowa. As most native Minnesotans know, it's nearly treason. However, I've found a home here. (Even if it'll never compare to my Minnesota hometown).
2. Pierce my nose.
A year ago, I didn't have a single piercing anywhere on my body. As I sit here today, I have my ears double pierced, my cartilage pierced and... my nose. Just last summer, one of my friends wanted to pierce her nose and I found myself saying "I could never do that." Does that make me a liar? Maybe, but I don't really mind. I've always found that nose piercings have a huge stigma around them. Since coming to this liberal arts college, this stigma has disappeared for me. Three of my best friends here have nose piercings and I'm convinced that they're trying to get all of the girls in our group to pierce their noses. Knowing us, it's probably true.
3. Make new friends.
I have a solid group of friends from high school and I never thought I would find people who even came close to those friends. While the new friends I have made don't and won't replace my high school friends, they're some of the greatest people I have ever met. It's crazy to think that we all met a short 6 months ago and now we know everything there is to know about each other. It's scary and exciting.
4. Dye my hair.
Okay this wasn't really my choice, but I'm glad I did it. I was Mary Poppins my senior year of high school. My hair is naturally blonde and very not Mary Poppinsish. So my blonde locks changed to dark brown, and it was all good. It was supposed to be temporary but I'm here to tell you that a full year later, there is still some dark brown in my hair. It's taken 4 dyeings to get my hair back to its natural color, so to my blonde sisters, be careful when dyeing darker. Don't get me wrong, I love being blonde, but this gave me an opportunity to experiment with my hair in a way I never thought I would.
5. Put vegetables on my tacos/sandwiches/pizzas.
Hear me out. 10 year old me was convinced that vegetables were the actual, literal devil. Why ruin such perfect things with something so foul. I'm happy to tell you that almost 10 years later, I have discovered the beauty of fajita vegetables, green peppers on sandwiches and onions on pizzas. I've still got some ground to cover in the world of vegetables, but I say that that is good progress.
6. Dance in public.
I am a terrible dancer and I always will be. I will refuse to dance even if someone begs, but I have overcome my fear of dancing in public. I am a Morale Captain for Luther College's Dance Marathon, a 12 hour dance that raises money for the University of Iowa's Stead Family Children's Hospital. What I didn't know when I signed up is that all of the captains are a part of a huge choreographed dance that happens every hour on the hour. This dance is fun, but not exactly easy to learn, and I'm proud of myself for letting my insecurities go and finding fun in the things I find scary.7. Fall in love.
This is sappy and I'm sorry. For most of my life, I thought that boys were stupid and didn't deserve my time. While this is still mostly true, I have found one boy who is worth my time. Falling in love, to me, is not only about the romantic love of another individual. In the last ten years, I have also discovered how to fall in love with myself, something that is not so easy. Whatever type of love you're speaking of, it's hard. It's hard to be far away from the person you love and it's hard to love yourself despite of and because of your flaws. But, it's so worth it.
Here's what I'm getting at. You are under no obligation to be who you said you were one year ago, one week ago, one day ago or even one minute ago. People change and grow constantly, let yourself do so. So yeah, 10-year-old you might have hated vegetables. So what? 19-year-old you can love them!
