Letter to My Younger Self

This is Pilgrimage to Self's idea, after she saw it in the latest issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. I read it in there too and thought that it was such a cool idea.

*********** ************** ************** **************

My Dear Younger Self,

This is your older and (methinks) wiser self speaking. Listen up, as what I have to say will make a world of difference to you. Sigh..... but, remembering what I was like back then, you're probably not going to listen anyway, but still, here goes...........

There is so much that I would like to tell you, that I really don't know where to start from.

-- Okay, remember that things are never quite as do-or-die as they might seem. No, you will not absolutely die if you don't keep up with whatever fashion that everyone else is wearing. When you are older and look back on most of the in-clothes, you will cringe in shame. Arabian baggies!!!! My God, could there be anything less flattering on a young woman's body? I can tell you that is one fashion item that will not be coming back into style.

-- You were always really cool anyway and light years ahead of the pack. So what if no one recognised this but you? Don't fall in with everyone else. Do your own thing and do it with pride.

-- Keep-up with your love for reading, even when your life gets quite busy. Sneaking in a chapter here and there will ultimately be more rewarding than spending hours in front of the TV. No, Sweet Dreams, Sweet Valley High and Mills and Boons don't really count. However, you won't realise this until much later when you find that the perfect tall, dark and handsome guy with a perfect GPA, who is captain of the debate club, swim team, football team, glee club, who is also class president and all-round popular guy doesn't really exist. (Well, maybe he does, but not in Ore's World).

-- Never stop writing. It's so much harder to start again when you haven't written a thing in years.

-- Be confident in yourself and your abilities. I think this is the one thing that you should remember even if you forget everything else. You are so much smarter than you realise.

-- Don't hate on those pretty, popular and smart girls. Yes, I know how unfair it seems that one person could be so hugely blessed, but you are who you are and they are who they are. Each person is an individual and comes with their own unique set of gifts. Just because you haven't figured out what yours are yet, doesn't mean that they don't exist.

-- Live in the moment more! You always were a bit of a worrier. If only you could know that most of the things you agonised over worked themselves out in the end. Don't think so much about about how this decision will affect you in the next 10 years. Just jump in with both feet and go. Some opportunities once gone, are not coming round your way again. So grab life with both hands.

-- There will come a time when your hair will fall out in clumps and you are forced to shave the whole thing off. You will be very upset by this. A couple of years after that, a friend, A, will 'help' you take out your braids and end up chopping a huge section of your hair off the side of your head and AGAIN you are forced to shave off your hair. You will want to kill him, but remember that it will be you who has to go to jail, not him! The US government does not play - especially with non-Americans! Your hair will grow back and in a few years you will even be thinking about cutting it (voluntarily) again. So, don't sweat it.

-- Infact, if you forget the one thing that I told you to remember even if you forget all the other stuff, remember this - Don't sweat the small stuff.

Love, love, love, (x infinity)

Your Older Self xxxxxxxxxxxx