I often look back at my middle school and early high school years and can't help but laugh because of the bad hair that I thought was totally cool and the edgy clothes. Talk about an identity crisis. But more than that, I laugh at the naivety and the narrow view of life that I had. I look back and I see a girl entering her freshman year of high school who was just trying to find her way in this vast world.

At 14, I was coming out of my "awkward" middle school phase and entering into my somewhat normal high school years. During that time, I thought the goal in life was to go to college, fall in love, get married, find a good job, have kids, and the rest is history. I told you I had a narrow view of life. While all of that is wonderful, it's simply one path of life, among many others. At 14, If you had told me that I would be a single graduate student living at home with her parents with absolutely no idea what to do with her life, I would have chuckled; but alas, this is my reality.

If I could sit down for a conversation with 14 year old me, first of all, I would pour her a cup of black coffee and let her know she uses way too much creamer to even call what she drinks coffee. Then I would tell her that in 8 years she will be a single graduate student who lives at home with her parents with absolutely no idea what to do with her life. She might laugh, and I might too, but then I'll tell her I'm serious. I'll tell her to take a deep breath and that everything is going to go according to plan–God's plan, that is. I'd let her know that God is a pretty faithful dude and that He hasn't let us down yet, but that this doesn't give her an excuse to slack on her school work.

I would look her straight in the face and tell her that she is beautiful and that she is not defined by the people around her, but by Christ. I would laugh out loud at the fact that she wants to be a physical therapist and just remind her we're not good at science. Last but not least, I would tell her to soak up everything she can in that photography elective she enrolled in because it's going to end up being more than just a hobby and the Lord's gonna use that in her life. Next, I would give her a big hug, because she probably needs it.

Imagine if we could actually sit down and chat with our younger selves and share all of the wisdom we've collected over the years? Just think about what a special and beautiful moment that would be. While we can't physically sit down with our younger selves, we do have the ability to sit down with the younger generation. Pouring into the next generation is so valuable because we have the ability to shape young minds with our influence. I look back and I'm thankful for all of the people who took the time to love me and pour into me because it's made me who I am today. Since I can't go back and share my life experience with myself, I try to share it with young people whenever I can in hopes that I can encourage the next generation.