Dear Future Self,

I hope college was everything you expected it would be. You'll be thankful when you look back. Why, you ask? Because when you get into tough situations, you will be prepared for them. I hope you asked for help when you needed it because you were always stubborn growing up and thought you needed to do everything on your own.

I hope you can keep some friends from college so you can all get together now and again. Your college friends will be your lifelong friends, so don't forget about them after your graduation. Even though you felt like you were trapped inside a 30-year-old woman's body because you came home from a 10-hour work day and watched "Tiny Houses, Big Living" on HGTV, you didn't end up missing too much when everyone else went out.

I hope the guy you are with is exactly what you ever wanted. I hope he's handy and can cook well, because you know you could never fix your own tire or cook anything more extravagant than pasta and sauce. I hope you both support each other's interests and live your lives together to the fullest.

I hope you take care of your body and see it as a temple. Working out and eating healthy is extremely important to you and always has been. But when you are having a bad day, it's OK to have that huge, chocolate chunk cookie. Think about your body, but do not become obsessed with that picture perfect image in the magazines that you read. When you get to the age where all of your friends are getting married, don't be jealous when you are still not the one in the white gown. Your time will come, and when it does, it will be the best day of your life.

When you have your first child, let your parents and grandparents spoil the baby. You'll want your children to have a close relationship with their grandparents and great-grandparents because you had the best relationship with yours. If you're having a long week at work, you'll want to send them to Grammy's house.

Through all the good times and the bad, be sure to spread your love and happiness. You'll have good days, but of course, you'll have your bad. Take those bad days with a grain of salt because the misery will not last forever. You're going to do great things in this world, and I can't wait to find out where you end up.

Love,

Yourself