Dear Younger Version Of Myself,

I remember you like it was yesterday. The little girl with the biggest imagination, trying to do almost anything to fit in, wanting to play every sport and join every club to see what my interests are, pointless arguments with my best friends, and getting mad at my parents for taking away my very first cell phone and grounding me for getting a bad grade on a test. For the good and the bad times, I sincerely thank you.

The little girl with the biggest imagination, she still has it. However, now she is starting to turn those dreams of hers into reality. The image in that little girl's head she's always had of seeing the world, going to school to get the job she's always imagined herself having, and making the people around her proud: she's following it and making sure that image never fades away. With the amount of time in her life spent believing, she realized it's time to start achieving what her imagination has always had in store for her. So, I thank you younger version of myself. Thank you for never failing to have such a wild imagination and letting my mind flow in all sorts of directions that led me to where I am today.

Remember when you would do almost anything to fit in? Grade school: begging your mom to take you shopping so you can have the latest styles in clothing in order for the "cool kids" to like you. High school: going to your very first party and thinking you were popular for getting invited. Thank you, thank you younger version of myself for teaching me that those little things never really mattered. The friends I have now as a college student are the ones who have stuck by my side no matter what I chose to wear or how popular I may be. Thank you for teaching me that fitting in with certain people just to please others was never important and never will be.

Thank you younger version of myself for wanting to play every sport out there and join every club to see what my interests would end up being in the future. Thank you for not being the best at every sport you did, but still putting in all of the effort to make your parents, your coach, and especially your teammates proud. Thank you for never giving up, but eventually realizing that some things just are not made to interest you. Thank you for signing up for things only because all of my friends were doing it. Thank you for making these moments some of my biggest memories that I will absolutely never forget.

Those super pointless over dramatic arguments with your best friends, we all had them. Those fights over boys, gossiping, and who wore that plaid skort better when it was in style. Thank you for standing up for what you believed in at such a young age, but thank you even more for realizing that some things aren't worth your time. Thank you for helping me realize that fighting over boys, gossiping about people, and being jealous of others isn't worth my time or breath. Thank you for putting me in my place and helping me be able to look back at all of the silly arguments with my closest friends who were probably the ones I was fighting with or jealous of at the time.

Most importantly, thank you for helping me show my parents how much I have grown into the person I am today. As weird as it may sound, thank you for getting your phone taken away and getting grounded for something that you at the time thought wasn't a big deal. Thank you for making me realize I could do better and needed to put in the extra effort my parents and the people around me knew I had. Thank you for showing me how certain things come with consequences and for proving that not everything happens in the ways that I would prefer. Thank you for taking risks, learning from your mistakes, and making the people around me proud by how much you have taught me.

For all of these things, I sincerely thank you. Without the mindset of my younger self, I wouldn't have the mindset that I have today.