Bit #6: Know You're Loved...

Little Life Lesson and Bit of Grace 6: Know you're loved, Be Proactive, Don't Settle, Make New Friends, Take Time to Reflect

{Editor's Note: My dear friend Ashley from Perfectly Pleasant posted this on her blog a few days ago. She found this letter on her computer when she was cleaning out some files. I loved it and asked if I could post here. I think it is fantastic and so valuable. We could all learn from some of the lessons and ideas that she touched on. I also think it is a great idea to reflect periodically on life and write letters to ourselves frequently. This helps us take our life experiences, events, choices, and lessons and really LEARN from them. Think of all that would be included in those letters if you wrote one to yourself every year. Thanks so much Ashley for sharing this. }

A letter to myself at 18…

Hi 18-year old Ashley, it’s 24-year old Ashley. I’m here to offer you some advice. Trust me, I know you can do it on your own (I’ve been there and survived). But I think I might be able to help you out.

First off, don’t worry so much about which chair you’ll be in at graduation. It won’t matter once you start college anyways and by the time you’re my age you won’t remember the exact chair number anyways. Volunteer more; it will make you a better person which is really what matters at the end of the day. And don’t just do it for your scholarships, do it because it’s something you care about. Speaking of scholarships, apply for more of them. And while you’re at it, apply for more schools. And don’t rule out schools close to home, you’ll miss it more than you think. When you do pick one don’t feel like you’re stuck, your family will understand if it doesn’t work (and they miss you just as much as you miss them.) Spend your first year or two doing lots of different things so you’ll have a better idea of what you want to do. You’ll still change your mind and that’s okay, but you can rule some things out. Be proactive about your education. When you get to college go out more, you can always do some homework 5 minutes before it’s due (just don’t make it a habit.)

Make more friends. You shouldn’t be so quick to judge people; they could turn out to be one of your closest friends. Trust people, they aren’t all bad.

It’s not okay to settle. It’ll be hard, but doing it will not be a mistake. And if you decide to stick it out know it won’t last forever and it’ll hurt like hell but you’ll be okay. You’ll learn through that experience how strong you really are how much better you really deserve. There are much better people out there, you won’t be alone forever or be a cat lady.

Most importantly, have fun! There will be a few bumps in the road, but at the end of the day they will make you a better person.

Oh, and ALWAYS know you’re loved!-A