As I get ready to start my last semester of college, it's hard not to look back at the last few years and be amazed at how far I've come. Not too long ago I had few real worries. Now I stand on the precipice of making it own my own, graduating and starting my career, and getting out there, wherever there turns out to be. It's hard to believe who I was when I started, both just a few years and a lifetime away. Now 22, I can't pretend I have it all figured out or that I'm even as wise and confident as I'd hope to be by now. Any college senior could tell you that. But these few short years have shaped me in more ways than I can count, and looking back, even as young, inexperienced, and not-altogether-with-it as I still am, I have a few things I wish I could go back and tell my 15-year-old self. To the girl who just started high school and looked at the world with more uncertainty than I care to admit, this one's for you.

You don't have to have it all figured out right now.

There's an unbelievable amount of pressure these days on high schoolers, and I felt that a little too keenly. We're asked to work unbelievably hard and set a path for the rest of our lives before we're even deemed mature enough to go to the bathroom without asking. College was on my mind for sure, as was getting a sports scholarship, and every day that went by without some kind of progress in setting the future, anything, seemed like a waste. I bounced around colleges and careers more times than I can count, always feeling the pressure to make a decision and get started.

Now, I would tell myself to relax.

I've learned in the last few years that you will never have your life totally figured out, and therein lies the beauty of living. I would tell myself that these imaginary deadlines don't exist, and even if you don't follow "the plan" or even know what it is yet, that doesn't mean your life is over. Every journey is different and things will come together in their own time, and no amount of planning, deciding, and pursuing can make you ready if you are not. So don't worry about what everyone says you should be doing or when, and do what is right for you when it is right for you.

Be present.

Put down the phone. Get off Facebook. Do something for the sake of doing it and not how good your Instagram photo will look after it. Moments matter, Snapchat does not. Realize that your life still exists if you don't document every second of it. I would tell my younger self to disconnect, to go out and just breathe, to find myself by hiking and swimming in rivers and watching the sunset, and not by projecting myself to the rest of the world on social media. In 70 years, you will not care how many likes you got or how witty your caption was. But you will care about your memories, and it's hard to make those if you are buried in your phone. Don't let your life pass you by as you watch it through a screen.

It's ok to slow down.

I was the girl who did everything in high school. You name it, I did it. I loved everything I did and thrived off of being involved, but I also felt like downsizing was the same as quitting.

Now, I would tell myself that it's ok to take the time to recharge.

That's one of the most important lessons I've learned this past year, the hardest of my life; there's no shame in doing nothing if that's what you need to do be healthy in this moment. In time, you might want to be super crazy committed and involved again, and that's fine too. Whether you are as busy as can be or taking time off, do whatever is best for you, and feel no guilt that you're not doing enough. It takes a lot of strength to admit that you need to slow down, and disengaging yourself is by no means a sign of weakness.

You are so much more than your appearance.

Getting a little distance from the hyper-sensitive pre-teen era, I feel angry at how the world makes young women feel like they're not enough before even asking who they are. The pressure on young girls to be perfect is indescribable to anyone who never grew up female in this era. As a high school freshman, I was well-accustomed to stressing about my weight, my face, my hair, and just about everything else for years. But with womanhood came a whole new set of reasons society told me to feel terrible about myself - your eyebrows, your clothes, your skin, your eyelashes, your height, your shape, your fashion sense, your makeup skills, your pant size, your dress size, your ankles, your elbows, do the hokey-pokey and the list goes on and on and on. I'm only 22 and I'm already exhausted. More than anything I wish I could tell my 15-year-old self that it.doesn't.matter.

What has mattered since I was 15 was how deeply I cared about people in my life, how quick I was to laugh and how quick to forgive, how zealously I took opportunities, how brave I was in hard times, how determined I was to keep going, how easily I moved on from difficult things. NOT ONCE have I ever gained or lost anything of importance because of the way I look, but I have wasted years of my life worrying about it. I wish I could tell my younger self to rebel against the world's notion that the value of a woman is determined first by looks and second by character. I would tell myself that you are so much more.

And lastly, be kind to yourself.

A wise man once said that your compassion is incomplete if it does not include yourself. That, more than anything, is what I wish I could tell myself years ago. In life we always make mistakes, things happen to us beyond our control, and we are forced to make hard decisions that we may come to regret. At times we react with grace and dignity, and many times we don't. We can't control hardship, and sometimes we can't control how it makes us feel or act. But we can forgive ourselves. I've learned to view every obstacle as an opportunity, every mistake and faux pas as a lesson. We cannot live as perfect beings or we would never grow. Too often we are so hard on ourselves and torture ourselves for years over our actions and our words. But remember, the lotus flower grows only in the deepest mud, so no mud means no lotus.

To all the 15-year-olds out there, or anyone else who needs to hear these words: live your life doing what is best for you, be gentle with yourself, and above all, live trying to grow your lotus, and you will make it out ok.