On the way to work the other day, I heard Brad Paisley's Letter To Me and it gave me the idea for this blog post. You can see the lyrics here, or watch the music video. Basically, the song is a letter to his 17 year old self. I thought it might be fun to do a post with letters to myself at different ages. I hope you'll join in and write a letter to your younger self in the comments or on your own blog.
Dear 10 Year Old Self,
Do not... I repeat do not EVER think it's a good idea to systematically steal every single item from your enemy's backpack on a day when he has particular annoyed you. If you do, please think of a better way to do it than signing out and heading to the "bathroom" every five minutes for one whole afternoon. That is bound to raise red flags. Duh. I promise fifth grade will not last forever.
Dear Middle School Self,
That black binder with all the "cool kids" name on it won't matter in a few years so don't bother celebrating the day your name gets on it. Instead celebrate the life long friends you have made, the Spice Girls dances you have made up, the notes that have been passed, the 20 million hours on the phone, and the other luxuries of middle school. Oh and please resist the drama and speak to Tiff at 8th grade graduation, in fifteen years you won't remember what the argument was about, but you will be in each other's weddings.
Dear 17 Year Old Self,
You love life right now, and what's not to love? You've got amazing friends, decreased homework in the form of senior slump, the ever-amazing "free blocks" and seriously competitive bowling games. Be thankful for these simple pleasures every day. I know this sounds crazy but your parents borrowing "your" (aka their) car for one day will NOT be the end of the world.
Dear College Self,
You will not spend one single moment of your life contemplating what you should have been doing in college vs. what you did do. Guess what? It didn't matter at all that you left college the very first night you arrived to go visit a friend from high school. You still made best friends. In only a few short years what you did over the weekend, whether or not you went out or stayed in won't matter at all. What will matter is the meals enjoyed with friends, Boston traditions like ice skating and tree lighting, watching TV with roommates, and summer nights in the pool. Don't judge: quality guys can be found at bars, best friends may at first seem to be your opposite, just because someone is in a different phase than you, doesn't mean they are in the wrong one.
Dear First Year Teacher,
This is going to be a hard year and all the advice in the world is not going to change that. Kids are going to test you, parents are going to test you, your principal is going to test you. You will pass. You will question teaching. You will question yourself. You will spend almost every waking hour trying to figure out how to be a better teacher. You will become a better teacher. Remember, the first year of almost everything sucks. Marriage won't follow this pattern for you, so you have that to look forward to. That AND you will never ever be a first year teacher again.
Dear Wedding Planning Kelly,
aka Kelly "I f- hate weddings!",
Don't discuss the wedding on Sundays and/or after 8:00pm. Don't argue about things you don't care about. Please figure out a better way to record and edit your guest list. Don't let one single person tell you that you will miss wedding planning when it is over, you won't. The wedding will be worth it though.
What would you say to your younger self?
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Ha i love this. I did something like this a few months ago.
ReplyDeleteHaha now why didn't you tell ME to find a better way to keep track of my guest list?!! (said as I try to piece together several emails, facebook messages and a couple spreadsheets full of addresses).
ReplyDeleteAlso did your 10 year old self really do that? That is HILARIOUS and AWESOME. Omg.
My main letter would be:
Dear 16 year old self - be nicer to your parents. You have it so good!
PS: I should add to this:
ReplyDeleteDear middle school self: probably not a good idea to skip a Social Studies test and hide in the boys bathroom with four other people when you go to a tiny school of 130 people in the country. You will likely get caught.
I have no idea what that argument was about either! I was so dramatic... Clearly we recovered :) These letters are awesome. Love you!
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh, I LOVE that last one!! People have definitely told me that before, and I think to myself "seriously?! How will I MISS this?!" I can't wait to be married and move on to bigger and better things, other than wedding planning!
ReplyDeleteHow about this one;
"Dear 13 year old Gina, PLEASE take down those clipped bangs that you have clipped on the top of your head. You look...like a moron!!!"
Oh I love this! I may need to get thinking on my own reflections!
ReplyDeleteI cannot tell you how scared/excited I am for that first year of teaching. Is it even possible to feel equal parts both of those emotions??? I'm glad I'm older and not a typical 22/23 year old first year teacher, but it's still scary!
ReplyDeleteThis was a cute post, I loved it!
Such great letters - i love that idea!!
ReplyDeleteI think I would really just tell myself that things DO get better and they DO happen for a reason all these times that my life strayed from what I had planned for myself!
Ha, I love these! One of my favorites is the line about you & Tiff and getting over the drama as you will be in each others' weddings.
ReplyDeleteI would tell my high school self that life will get so much better and to just hold on because you will find amazing friendships in college (I had a really horrible high school experience).
I would tell my 20-something self to stop worrying that i wll never find a job that fits and challenges me. I would tell her to calm down and remember that it takes time to figure things out.
I would tell 29 year old Lisa that I am proud of her for ending the relationship with Tom. It was the first time I was really smart about dating and forced msyelf to see things for what they are/were going to be if we stayed together, instead of living in 'la la land'.
I LOVE this idea!!!! Here are some of mine!!!
ReplyDeleteDear Me on my 8th Birthday,
You don't know it yet but in a little over a month you will be leaving this country and moving far far away. Almost 25 years later you still won't have returned. So make sure you drink it all in. Take a mental picture.
Dear Newly Immigrant Self,
When your sister crawls across the icy field to say hello to you at lunch, don't get upset at her and send her to class. You'll regret it for the rest of your life.
Dear High School Self,
There will be a boy who plays soccer. You'll think he's mighty cute and the sun rises and sets with him. Enjoy that feeling.
Later on you'll date another boy. End the relationship after two years. It doesn't get better after that.
Dear 22 year-old self living in Paris,
These will be the good old days! Have the time of your life!!!!!!
Dear Law School Self,
You'll change more than you can imagine during this time. And it will be change for the better. As a bonus - you'll meet the boy you're going to marry. What's not to love about that!? :o)
Dear Living in the Rockies Self,
Yes, you're a big city girl living in a small town. But enjoy it for what it's worth. Just when you're getting settled everything will change and you'll move away.
:o)