A letter to my younger self

Dear Ally,

I hope this letter finds you well. I know you’re experiencing a lot of difficult things right now. I wanted to share a few things I’ve learned (often the hard way) and some I’m still learning.

Enjoy your life.

Not everything you do needs to directly lead to the next step in your life. It’s okay to take long walks in the sunshine, soaking up the golden warmth. It’s okay to dance in the rain, letting the drops slide along your skin and soak into your clothes. Obviously its still important to work hard and be studious, but that’s only a small part of life. You don’t always need to be productive and efficient. Find the balance between working hard and enjoying the beautiful moments in life. Spend time with friends and family, play with children, speak with your elders. Learn new things, take risks, make mistakes, grow.

Slow down.

Learn to live more in the moment. Take stock of your feelings and emotions as you go through life. Planning is great, but if you keep looking forward to the next big thing, you’ll miss out on all the special little moments. You feel like you’re running out of time but you have your entire life ahead of you. Don’t worry, some pretty amazing things are coming up, you just need to be patient.

Choose happiness.

Let yourself do silly things that bring you joy. Belt out the lyrics to your favourite song as you’re driving. You don’t have to be serious all the time. Find people that make you smile and nurture those friendships. Embrace new opportunities and don’t let feeling self conscious make you miss out on new experiences. Happiness is a choice. I’ll be honest, you’re going to experience some pretty difficult things in the future, but stay positive. Keep smiling and be a positive example to those around you.

Stand up for yourself and learn to say no.

You have this habit of saying yes to everything because you don’t want others to be upset with you. But if you don’t respect yourself, others won’t either. If you don’t set up personal boundaries, people will take advantage of your kindness. You don’t owe anyone anything. While its good to stretch your comfort zone by introducing yourself to others, making conversation, public speaking, etc, give yourself time to think about why you’re doing something. If you’re doing it to please someone else, you’re doing it for the wrong reason. Take care of yourself and your energy.

Ask for help.

Asking for help isn’t a weakness. In fact, it takes a lot of courage to open up and tell someone you need help. You’re not being a burden to others, there are people out there who truly care for you. They want to help you. Holding in all that stress and anxiety isn’t healthy and it’ll take a toll on your physical and mental health.

I hope these help you along the way. Just remember that the future isn’t as scary as you think it is. Keep on moving forward and you’ll get there!

Take care,
Your future self

Image credit: “Walk with me…” by Sandeep Murali is licensed under CC by 2.0