A Note to My Former Self

Dear Me,

This is you from the future. Before you panic, know that everythings fine. Im writing to you from my favorite reading nook, while S, my (ill say my because our husband just sounds weird!) does the dishes (score!) and M, my toddler is singing along with something playing on TV. I spoke to Mom and Dad this morning and theyre fine. Your sister is still your best friend. So you see, everything does turn out okay and you do too.

Im at that point in life when Ive come to realize that Mom was right. About everything. I now understand how hard she worked to take care of us. She always kept us clean, healthy, well fed, well mannered, and well read, in spite of not having hired help and no dishwashers and washing machines to lighten her load (no pun intended). So, dont roll your eyes at her. Respect her, because shes wonderful!

Dont ever stop reading. Feed your love for books. It will push you towards progress in more ways than you can imagine. Get out of your comfort zone and read different genres along with those Mills & Boon books.

Also, dont beat yourself up because you dont get trigonometry. You wont really cross paths with sine ,cosine and tangents later in life. School grades are important, but failing trigonometry is not the end of the world.

That guy who dumped you because you werent pretty enough for him? He doesnt deserve your tears. Dont pine for him. If you could look ahead you would see that this will be one of the biggest turning points of your life. Youll move to a new city, get the biggest job opportunity of your life, shed that naive shell and emerge as a confident woman ready to take on the world. You have always seen Dad helping Mom around the house and treating his girls like princesses. Dont settle for anything less than that. Someone just like Dad does exist and youll meet him most unexpectedly. He will be everything you wished for and more.

There will be many good days and an equal number of bad days. But what you should look forward to is the ordinary days. Thats when all the magic happens. Theres nothing I can say or do to prepare you for the bad days, but know that you are surrounded by people who love you and care for you. Lean on them, they wont mind at all.

Accept change, youll see a lot of that in life. Youll be happier if you dont resist it. Let go!

And finally, whenever you question your ability and you think youre hopeless at what youre doing, dont quit! Try harder, keep going. Things always get better with practice. Life will take you to places you wont always like, but remember what Miss Vergis said in 7th grade Bloom where youre planted. Do just that. Youll be fine.

All my love,

You.