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Dear Younger Me

I still rock even though I have not lived up to your expectations.

J&M

Apr 24, 2017

Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Dear younger me,

I know you had all these large plans by the time you got to age 25, and I’m sorry to let you down. I’m not where you thought you would be at this point in time, but something you didn’t understand is that things do change. Life isn’t this perfect cookie cutter thing, it’s a hot mess that everyone struggles with every day. You had aspirations to have your dream career, be married, have your own home, the proper 2.5 kids, and lots of dogs by age 25. Sorry to break the news to you but that is not where you’re at currently. I’m going to tell you that it’s okay to not be where you thought you would be. It’s okay that you’re still trying to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life. There are people out there that don't know what they want in their professional life until they're in their forties. So not knowing at the age of twenty-five is nothing to be too worried about. It’s okay that you’re not married with a house and 2.5 kids, funnily enough you don’t even want kids anymore. You for sure still want dogs though, “fur babies”. You were led to believe from a young age by media and family members that there was a certain way that you had to lead your life. Go through K-12, go to college, magically get your dream job, find a partner, get married, buy a house, have children and live happily ever after. Not saying that this cookie cutter life isn’t attainable for other people, but you will never live this life and that is OKAY. You have a job you like, you have a beautiful girlfriend, you have a fur baby (dog), and you’re trying to buy a house. Yeah things are not happening in the order you thought they would, yes it’s been a big struggle and continues to be every day but that’s how life is...straight up messy. I wish people had been more honest with you as a kid, and not force feed you happy lies. In a way I guess that’s what you do with kids so they don’t lose their spark in life, so they keep on dreaming big. Sometimes I still have that kid spark, but it’s hard to grasp at this age. You help me though, even though I’m not where you want me to be you help me continue to try to be the best version of myself. Thank you for that, thank you for always dreaming big and not completely letting the child within me die.

Sincerely,

Your older self

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Dear Younger Me

I still rock even though I have not lived up to your expectations.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

No one best represents the struggle like our favorite 90s squad.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

2. When there is only one section of a popular course.

3. Receiving the 18,000 emails reminding you to register ASAP.

4. When you need to see an advisor, but they are too busy/unresponsive.

5. Trying not to dress like a bum for your appointments with your advisors/department heads.

6. When you have a perfectly planned out schedule, and one class ruins it.

7. Carefully moving things around to accommodate a different class/section.

8. Waking up at 6:00 a.m. for your enrollment time.

9. Concocting a new schedule at your enrollment time after your original plan gets changed.

10. Getting into a class and filling the last available seat.

11. When all of your classes finally go through.

12. Realizing that you forgot a class that was a pre-requisite for everything else.

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

"Nobody living in one of the most influential nations in the world should be worried about making ends meet."

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What are the benefits of raising the minimum wage?

What are the states that have set a $15/hour minimum wage?

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Because who understands your bitterness better than April?

1. When you have to provide an "interesting fact" for your first day ice-breaker.

2. When your professor is babbling on and on in his lecture.

3. When you edit your friend's paper and they get an A.

4. When it's 2 AM and you remember you have a test tomorrow.

5. When you finish taking the test and you're pretty sure you failed...

6. ...but then you get the test back and somehow passed.

7. When you've been up for 12 hours straight writing a paper.

8. And then you manage to stay awake in class the next day.

9. When you have to butter up your professor for an extra credit opportunity.

10. When you're assigned a group project.

11. And your group-mates are trying to chat about life instead of the assignment.

12. When it's your last class of the day and you're about to go home.

13. But then you remember rent is due tonight and the anger comes back.

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