Dear Younger Self

Dear Younger Me,

If I could slap you upside the head I would. You need to focus on what you want to do-that includes school. I know it doesn't feel right, but you learn so much that you would have never understood had you not gone to college. There were so many times throughout high school that I know you were afraid to stand up for yourself because you feared losing your friends. However, when graduation hits they aren't going to stay around anyway, so you might as well get it off your chest now.

Don't get cocky. I know you: I am you. I know how you are when you think you know something. You get overzealous, and you expect every word out of your mouth to be written by the lord himself. You are barely right, and you don't accept when you are wrong. Speaking of being wrong just own up to your mistakes. It makes everyone lives easier- including your own.

Appreciate your family. Whether related or unrelated they have done so much for you, and you are no where near as grateful as you should be for their existence in your life. I know it's rough, and there are plenty of times that I still can't wait to get my own apartment, but they love you and would do anything to help you succeed. You need to be grateful because not everyone gets the opportunity of having two loving, married parents who are willing to do anything for you.

Remember that you can't do everything. I know you want to do 2000 things at once, but you are going to have to choice, and that decision is going to suck no matter what you pick, so pick something and spend your time enjoying that. Live in the present and all that yogi shit.

Be nicer to everyone. Be nice to people you have never met. Be nice to people who probably don't deserve it. I know that you need to be tough to keep the toxic people out of your life, but you are only going to make yourself lonely in the meantime. Being tough does not mean being rude or judgmental of others-if anything that is something you have been trying to get away from for years.

Speaking of loneliness, you don't need a significant other. Your life should not revolve around whether or not you have a man by your side. You need to focus on your career. Just because your friends are doing it, doesn't mean it's the right thing for you to do. Having someone there by your side is nice, but everything will be a lot nicer if you focus more on what you have than what you don't.

All in all just breathe and remember it will get better. It is said on every letter, and there is a reason. It's because it's true. No matter what you are going through now, will be nothing in 10 years. As my queen Kelly Clarkson once said "What Doesn't Kill You, Makes you Stronger."

Sincerely,

Older, More Self Aware You.