To My Younger Self.

Hello beautiful!

Your life has been very good to you, for the most part. You grew up with two parents who love you endlessly, two brothers who would protect you from anything or anyone in this world, and a family that supports you in whatever you decide to do with your life. Not many people can say they have that kind of love around them, so you are grateful every day that you were given such amazing people to love you unconditionally. Yes, growing up was complicated at times, having divorced parents will tear you apart some days, and of course you were not angry at either one of them for it, but that is for a different letter. Anyways, back to you, you were always such a strong girl, a girl who had the biggest heart, but is sensitive and feels every thing so deeply. Feeling deeply is something you were never ashamed of, some people could not handle it, but others admired it. In life, you will be confused about what exactly you want in this world, who you want to spend your life with, who you should keep in your life, who you should let go of, and the list goes on. My point is, life will make you think a lot about what kind of person you are. You will wonder why God placed you on this Earth, as you know He has a reason for creating everything and everyone, but you will try to figure out your purpose in life. You will make it through High School, gosh, that will be a hard time, but also do not rush it, for when it is over you will wish you could go back to those days. High School opens your eyes, it helps you grow into the person you want to be and it teaches you so much about life. Like, how some people are hurtful, others are kind, how some people are there for you, and others walk away without any reasoning. You will learn that half the stuff they taught you is not actually used in the real world, because let's be real it is 2017 and Google is the brain of all humans. However, you will learn that every teacher, guidance counselor, principle and so on, were all only preparing you for the life that lies ahead and you are thankful for each one of them. Graduation is bittersweet, that moment of your life makes you realize how quickly time goes by, and from there it only seems to go faster. You will say "see ya" and "good luck" to all the friends you made throughout the years, never saying "goodbye" because again it is 2017, we have social media and we can watch each others adult lives develop on a computer or cellphone screen or send them a message when we wonder how they are. From there, you will attend college, you only applied to one school, which maybe was not the smartest thing to do, but you had no idea what you even wanted to do, and luckily it worked out for you. Well, for a little while. College was something you looked forward too, all the new people you would meet, the experience of living on your own without having anyone telling you what to do. You were ready for this next chapter. Along the way, you met so many wonderful and beautiful people, people you want to stay in contact with for the rest of your life. The college you attend will be so diverse, it will allow you to meet other people from different parts of the world, which is the neatest and craziest thing to you. A girl that came from a small town was finally able to explore all this life had to offer, with the help of all the amazing people she met. And you will feel forever blessed. I guarantee, the people you meet at college will impact you for the rest of your life, each one in a different way. The college you chose is in a small, but beautiful town, where you feel one with the environment and nature. College is where you learned the most about yourself, you had time to discover parts of you that you did not know existed. I will tell you, during this time, you will cry more than you ever have in your life, but you will also laugh and love more than you ever have too. People will still hurt you, life will take its toll and the stress of college will become overwhelming. Later, you will decide to pursue a different path in life. At this moment, the new path you have chosen feels like the right path, for once you will feel like you made the best decision of your life. The people close to you will tell you how proud they are of you and that makes you proud of yourself, close friends will tell you that what you chose is a 'big step' in your life, and fear, excitement, and a sense of relief will wash over you. Why? Because you know in your heart this is where you were meant to be. Right here in this exact moment. You are strong, beautiful, determined, independent, and so much more, but most importantly never forget that you are loved, sweet girl. You are loved more than you know.

-Your 20 year old self