I sure don’t have life figured out. Heck, does anyone? If you know me even a little, you know how much of a chronic hot mess I am. It’s so easy for me to get overwhelmed by the complications of life. So, I am grateful when I am able to learn a little from something as simple as a tropical fruit. All hail the single greatest fruit ever to exist.

Pineapple Fact 1: The top of a pineapple, after cleaning and drying, can be planted in soil and a new plant will grow.

Have you ever felt like everything (every life choice, every interaction, every meal, every pair of shoes) up until this point in your life has been a mistake? One time I decided to turn on my old cell phone, one from my rambunctious high school days, and read my old texts were left there, undeleted. I was a freshman in college at the time, and in a pretty fragile state (as most college freshman are). As I read through my messages between myself and my high school “fling," my then BFF, and even my technological impaired father, I began to question every single life choice I had made after getting rid of my old, slider, non-smart phone and trading it in for a newer, shiner, and cooler iPhone, because that is what all the cool kids were doing.

So what did I do about it? I sat down and ate an inhuman amount of spaghetti pie and a tall glass of 1 percent milk. Because is there really anything pasta and milk can’t fix?

How many times have I worn a flamboyant dress on an ultra-windy day or answered a question in class with the incorrect conjugation of the Spanish verb “ser” and then felt like the world was ending and to take another forward step would only embarrass me, not to mention my mother, further?

All Marilyn Monroe incidents and jokes aside, regrets are like Velcro stuck to a cashmere sweater. Trying to remove them causes serious damage to the garment and also notoriously steals precious threads that are irreplaceable.

But what about after some extensive cutting, and intense drying? What about after all of the past is used up? What if, we were able to replant ourselves in a fresh plots of land, full of nutrients that would only enhance our sweetness and encourage us to grow instead of stealing valuable qualities? What if, instead of thinking about all of the damage starting over causes, we dwelt on thoughts of renewal? What if instead of drowning our sorrows in two pounds of pasta and a gallon of milk, we chose to replant?

Pineapple Fact 2: It takes almost three years for a single pineapple to reach maturation.

In my eighth grade English class, we had to write letters to ourselves. We were to write about where we thought we would be and what we thought we would be doing and who we would have met ten years from then. I can remember being so ecstatic about my future and I quickly filled page after page of my hopes and dreams. I wrote about opening my own vet clinic and having a huge horse farm with dozens of stables. I wrote about getting married and what I would name my kids. I wrote about how successful and strong and independent I would be.

When you’re 13 years old it seems as if your entire life can be planned out on a couple of pages of notebook paper in a letter to yourself. However, life is a series of twists and turns that make you swerve out of control, and it’s so easy to lose sight of your strength and independence.

My teacher collected the letters and I assume has them on file somewhere. He promised us that in ten years he would send them to us. I have approximately three years until I will be able to hold that letter in my hands again, and I am terrified.

I am afraid that who I am right now, would be a disappointment to that eighth grade girl. I’m afraid that I’ve stood at a standstill for the past eight years, shuffling forward or backward here and there, but mostly just stuck in the same spot. I’m afraid that who I’ve become is miles away from who I wanted to be. I’m afraid that who I want to be now, would make eighth grade me cringe.

Many times, I evaluate my goals from a year ago, a month ago, or even last week, and I fall so far short of where I envisioned myself. I hope that who I am in three years will receive a pat on the back and wicked thumbs up from that adolescent, angsty, 13-year-old. I only have three years to make my eighth grade self proud.

Pineapple Fact 3: Pineapple canneries use every bit of the pineapple. The skins, core and end portions are used to make a variety of products including vinegar, alcohol and animal food.

Recently,I have been meditating on the idea of truly living. What does that even mean?! It seems as though our lives can be completely defined by the quality of an Instagram post, whether or not our make-up is smudged or if we are eating completely organic. Often times I feel so discouraged and helpless when I examine my life and see mess. However, when has living become perfection? In order to truly live, must we shower daily and trim our nails immaculately? Must we make our beds every morning without fail and arrive to every meeting on time? Must we always eat our fruits and vegetables and swear off simple sugars? Do we have to exercise daily to feel as if we are alive?

Time is fleeting. It doesn’t matter how “perfect” we are; our lives are going to eventually end. Regardless of the condition of our messy buns and calf muscles. Instead of focusing on perfection, I want to focus on using myself up until there’s nothing left. Not, working myself to the bone and exhausting my brain cells. But laying down in my unmade bed with unwashed hair, with a whole gallon of butter pecan ice cream and being able to say, “I didn’t waste a minute on unnecessary things today.” Unnecessary meaning negative, and things meaning thoughts. It’s always great when you don’t have to waste anything.