Working Wives & Bachelorettes: Dear Me

Ever wish you knew then what you know now? What would you tell yourself?

Dear high school me,
You are so pretty. You look good in your swim suit. Your boobs aren't too small. Your thighs aren't too large. Someday you are gonna look back at those photos and think, "Damn, I really was hot."

Don't get so wrapped up in boys. The guy you are dating now you won't marry. Enjoy his company, but not at the expense of losing yourself. Enjoy your time with your friends. Don't be friends with the girls who like drama. You'll end up losing them as friends anyway, so just bypass the hassle. These actually aren't the best years of your life. It gets even better!

Don't try to act so mature. You are going to spend the rest of your life chasing your youth.

Dear college me,
Don't be so upset about not going to school where you wanted. It all works out in the end. Study more. You will need a good GPA more than you will need memories of late-night drinking binges. Some friendships last, some don't. Move on. It's all a learning process. Love your roomates. It's tough, I know, but they are who you will remember forever when you look back on your college days. And some of them won't be around anymore by the time you are married with kids. Enjoy them. Flaws and all.

Start exercising. You think you are so busy...and you are, but napping is not busy, it is wasteful. If you start working out now, it will become part of who you are the rest of your life. You body will thank you!

Don't smoke. You look stupid, not cool. And don't go tanning. Again, stupid, not cool.

Dear pre-kids twenty-something me,
If you hate your job, quit it. This is the time to be selfish. No kids, no mortgage. Find what you love now. You will thank me later.

Travel more. Visit friends. If you think life is busy now...keep reading.

Dear post-kids twenty-something me,
You are still so pretty and put together, though you feel like you are forever falling apart. The kids, the house, the husband. Enjoy it. It's gonna fly by. Don't get so upset about the toddler throwing a fit. Laugh at it. So, you didn't get into grad school. There is a reason. You don't know it yet, but there is. Don't worry so much about getting everything done. Eventually, what needs to be done, gets done!

Dear thirty-something me,
Read the other letters I wrote to my past you. It still all holds true. The characters may have changed, but the lessons haven't.

And the best years of your life...you are living them! Enjoy it!