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My 18-year-old self. Just graduating High School.

Dear  18 year old Ariana,

You don’t know me yet, but I am your 26 year old self. Don’t freak out! This is NOT the Twilight Zone (A show you will come to love and enjoy by the way)! I am writing to you because as your older self, there are things I wish you knew Freshman year that would save me a lot of headaches and regret.

1) Put God first and you will be able to get through anything!

2) Don’t kill yourself trying have things all planned out to the tee. I know we freak out if things don’t go according to plan, but trust me. It’s not worth the trouble or the headache. God is in control. Trust that.

3) Eat right and workout. You will not be pleased if you saw me today. So, fit in that gym time!

4) You are way too serious and cautious.  “Take Chances. Make Mistakes. Get Messy!”- Ms. Frizzle. Have fun, this is college for Pete’s sake!

5) When you get your first credit card, don’t charge food on it. You will end up paying for it months after you flushed it down the toilet.

6) SAVE! SAVE! SAVE! While you are at home and working, be diligent about  socking some money away. Life would be a little easier for us now if you do that.

7) Don’t let anything stop you from studying abroad. You will live to regret it. Trust me!

8) Keep your network of peers diverse in ethnicity, opinions, careers, etc. Remember, iron sharpens iron.

9) Eliminate your perfectionism! It leads to procrastination and hesitation. Work on that now!

10) Work on saying no and being more assertive. This allows you to protect your time and your energy. Don’t let people take advantage of you.

I know the list presents some challenges for you, but if you do these things, life will be a little easier for us.  Just know that you are doing amazing things right now. You will go through ups and downs, but you are stronger and more resilient than you think you are. I leave you with this quote to embed in your memory, “If you are willing to do what’s easy, life will be hard. But if you are willing to do what is hard, life will be easy.”

Now go and be amazing!

Love,

26 year old Ariana