I was in Barnes and Noble the other day and ran across this book called "What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self." It's a collection of letters by successful women that they wrote to their younger selves. It's pretty interesting. Some of them are inspiring, others are a bit obvious, but overall I thought it was a unique idea.
So I decided to steal it.
I got to thinking about what I would say to my younger self, especially since I wouldn't classify myself as "successful" by any means just yet. After running the idea through my head off and on throughout the day, I finally sat down and wrote to myself. It was a strange experience.. I recommend trying it out for yourself!
Dearest Bethany,
I love you.
I love you for your firm faith in God, I envy you for your innocence, for your faith in people, for your naivety, and the blind hope you possess that good things will happen. Do whatever you must do to hold onto those things! Hide them in your heart. They will be what defines you and sets you apart; never let them go, no matter what people say.
You are a blessed. Don't forget that either. You are blessed with a loving family, one that only wants the best for you and will do everything to see that you never go without, as well as a God that truly cares for you and wants only the best for you. Bethany, I wish I could tell you that your life will be as happy as it is right now, but the coming months and years will take you places, both good and bad, you never dreamed you would go. You will fear at times that you are facing this journey alone... this is both true and false. Much of life is faced alone, despite the best intentions of those who try to help us.. but there is a God that is there and He will listen and He will comfort. So be strong. You are strong! People will say this to you many times, but don't believe it just because they say it, believe it because it is true. Believe it because you know it is true of yourself.
You're right when you look for the best in people. You're going to meet a lot of different people over these next years, some true and some false. You'll believe in them all and, sadly, over and over again people that you love and trust the most will do things that hurt you, disappoint you, and almost break you.. But even in the worst of times, don't allow yourself to be bitter or to give into cynicism. Let yourself cry, it's okay. to be sad. Allow yourself time to heal. But don't turn into a cynic-- you're far too good for that.
I know you would like to see the big picture right now, unfortunately I still don't have one for you, but I can give you a small glimpse into your future (just a small one though... I know how you like to be surprised)...
You are determined. You are loving. You are talented. You are stubborn. You are intelligent. You are still soft-hearted (You know this, and sometimes you love it, sometimes you hate it, but most of the time you view it as a weakness. Please don't... It's a gift). Without going into detail, I will say, you will prove a great number of people wrong... which I am sure makes you smile, but this isn't really all that important. The important thing is that you will affirm for yourself things that you currently think might be true of you. In the end you will do things because you want to do them, and not to prove a point, and that my friend, is the most important journey you could ever be on.
Listen to me: you have nothing to prove. To anyone. People will say things about you, judge you, try to categorize and contain you, but they won't be able to. You are who you are, and honestly, looking back, I am very impressed by you, and my opinion is the one that should matter the most!
You have your share of cruelty, rejection, failure, betrayal, and yes, jerks ahead of you... and believe me, you are going to make all kinds of mistakes... but that's life. You don't get a waiver just because some things didn't go as planned.
Through the years there will be very good times and very painful ones. There will be a day you feel like you're on the very top of the world and there will be a couple times, I'm sad to say, that you'll feel like someone has literally ripped your heart out of your body. You'll never forget that feeling, but, honestly, it's an okay feeling. It gives you a sensitivity to others' pain, it makes you stronger, but mostly, it makes you that much more appreciative when you find the person that fills that part of your heart that was hurting for so long.
The truth is, there's no way to know just what the future holds. I wish I could promise you a life full of snow days, apple cider, and Christmas lights, but I can't. I can only promise you that through everything you keep going. You lose a lot of yourself to find happiness in others along the way, and that's a regret you'll deal with, but you'll pull yourself back together, and you'll learn to stick up for yourself too. Not to mention, you'll have some great times and make amazing memories for yourself... Trust me on that one: amazing memories! You have no idea...
But before I go there are three things you always need to remember:
1) Don't wait for someone to tell you to do something. Don't shy away from the limelight just because you're afraid you'll fail-- just do it. Take those chances. I know change is scary to you, but don't hold yourself back. Shine because you can.
2) Believe in yourself, Bethany. I'm proud to say that for the most I love who we are and who we're becoming. So, don't ever doubt what's inside of you. Silence your personal critic and don't ever listen to those people that will tell you that you're less than you know you are. Believe in yourself, like I do.
3) And last, but certainly not least... whatever you face, remember to trust God. He's the only one you can always count on to be in your corner. He's the only thing that will keep you going through the hard times... Others will try to take His place, and sometimes you'll let them, but always remember no matter where you are, no matter how far you've fallen-- you're never too far gone, you're never too lost. He'll always find you and bring you back.
Resist the urge to look back and regret.. Rather, always look forward to what's ahead of you.
Love, love, love,
Your Future Self
P.S. Just in case you were wondering: You will always love Christmas just as much as you do now! Don't worry... That doesn't go away with age!
So I decided to steal it.
I got to thinking about what I would say to my younger self, especially since I wouldn't classify myself as "successful" by any means just yet. After running the idea through my head off and on throughout the day, I finally sat down and wrote to myself. It was a strange experience.. I recommend trying it out for yourself!
Dearest Bethany,
I love you.
I love you for your firm faith in God, I envy you for your innocence, for your faith in people, for your naivety, and the blind hope you possess that good things will happen. Do whatever you must do to hold onto those things! Hide them in your heart. They will be what defines you and sets you apart; never let them go, no matter what people say.
You are a blessed. Don't forget that either. You are blessed with a loving family, one that only wants the best for you and will do everything to see that you never go without, as well as a God that truly cares for you and wants only the best for you. Bethany, I wish I could tell you that your life will be as happy as it is right now, but the coming months and years will take you places, both good and bad, you never dreamed you would go. You will fear at times that you are facing this journey alone... this is both true and false. Much of life is faced alone, despite the best intentions of those who try to help us.. but there is a God that is there and He will listen and He will comfort. So be strong. You are strong! People will say this to you many times, but don't believe it just because they say it, believe it because it is true. Believe it because you know it is true of yourself.
You're right when you look for the best in people. You're going to meet a lot of different people over these next years, some true and some false. You'll believe in them all and, sadly, over and over again people that you love and trust the most will do things that hurt you, disappoint you, and almost break you.. But even in the worst of times, don't allow yourself to be bitter or to give into cynicism. Let yourself cry, it's okay. to be sad. Allow yourself time to heal. But don't turn into a cynic-- you're far too good for that.
I know you would like to see the big picture right now, unfortunately I still don't have one for you, but I can give you a small glimpse into your future (just a small one though... I know how you like to be surprised)...
You are determined. You are loving. You are talented. You are stubborn. You are intelligent. You are still soft-hearted (You know this, and sometimes you love it, sometimes you hate it, but most of the time you view it as a weakness. Please don't... It's a gift). Without going into detail, I will say, you will prove a great number of people wrong... which I am sure makes you smile, but this isn't really all that important. The important thing is that you will affirm for yourself things that you currently think might be true of you. In the end you will do things because you want to do them, and not to prove a point, and that my friend, is the most important journey you could ever be on.
Listen to me: you have nothing to prove. To anyone. People will say things about you, judge you, try to categorize and contain you, but they won't be able to. You are who you are, and honestly, looking back, I am very impressed by you, and my opinion is the one that should matter the most!
You have your share of cruelty, rejection, failure, betrayal, and yes, jerks ahead of you... and believe me, you are going to make all kinds of mistakes... but that's life. You don't get a waiver just because some things didn't go as planned.
Through the years there will be very good times and very painful ones. There will be a day you feel like you're on the very top of the world and there will be a couple times, I'm sad to say, that you'll feel like someone has literally ripped your heart out of your body. You'll never forget that feeling, but, honestly, it's an okay feeling. It gives you a sensitivity to others' pain, it makes you stronger, but mostly, it makes you that much more appreciative when you find the person that fills that part of your heart that was hurting for so long.
The truth is, there's no way to know just what the future holds. I wish I could promise you a life full of snow days, apple cider, and Christmas lights, but I can't. I can only promise you that through everything you keep going. You lose a lot of yourself to find happiness in others along the way, and that's a regret you'll deal with, but you'll pull yourself back together, and you'll learn to stick up for yourself too. Not to mention, you'll have some great times and make amazing memories for yourself... Trust me on that one: amazing memories! You have no idea...
But before I go there are three things you always need to remember:
1) Don't wait for someone to tell you to do something. Don't shy away from the limelight just because you're afraid you'll fail-- just do it. Take those chances. I know change is scary to you, but don't hold yourself back. Shine because you can.
2) Believe in yourself, Bethany. I'm proud to say that for the most I love who we are and who we're becoming. So, don't ever doubt what's inside of you. Silence your personal critic and don't ever listen to those people that will tell you that you're less than you know you are. Believe in yourself, like I do.
3) And last, but certainly not least... whatever you face, remember to trust God. He's the only one you can always count on to be in your corner. He's the only thing that will keep you going through the hard times... Others will try to take His place, and sometimes you'll let them, but always remember no matter where you are, no matter how far you've fallen-- you're never too far gone, you're never too lost. He'll always find you and bring you back.
Resist the urge to look back and regret.. Rather, always look forward to what's ahead of you.
Love, love, love,
Your Future Self
P.S. Just in case you were wondering: You will always love Christmas just as much as you do now! Don't worry... That doesn't go away with age!
