Dear Twenty Year Old Me,
You're going to face some hardships this year my friend. You will get lied to, betrayed, heartbroken. But you will also face accomplishment. You will face self discovery and pride for conquering the winding road. Don't give up. Don't cave in to your own self doubt, your insecurities, your flaws. You will make it.
Don't let people walk all over you. This is the year you will decipher who deserves a place in your life. For the past two years, you have tried to find your niche in college. You will join many different cliques and face many different friendships. Most of these are toxic, and they do not have your best interest at heart. They will let you fall and not look back to help you back up. They won't want to see you grow, and when you do, they will turn your back on you. This is okay. Learn how to walk away, and remember that no company is better than bad company.
You will become vulnerable to being in a relationship again. This was big for you. You forgave the ones that have hurt you in the past and you will get carried away, opening yourself up to the wrong people. You will become infatuated and let yourself fall in love with the wrong person. This will affect you, even a year later. In the moment, this person will make you feel as if you are on cloud nine and nothing and nobody else will ever matter. You will adapt to this person and their needs. You will lie to others and yourself about the situation. But this isn't real. You will fall in love with the idea, and the person, that isn't right for you. You will realize this, and it will devastate you. You should have walked away, but you didn't. You will learn from this.
You will face the biggest betrayal that you have faced in your life this year. You will not know how to react. Instead, you will dwell, for months and months on the lies you have been fed and the betrayal of the people that you loved. It is not your fault that this happened to you. There is nothing that you did wrong. Realize that bad things happen to good people, and even though you gave your trust and love to the wrong people, not everyone will hurt you in the way that they did. Move on from this.
You will meet some incredible people in your career path. You will discover your mentor, your motivator. This person will help you grow and help you discover your passion for writing, and the steps into creating a career out of it. You will learn the benefits of holding a steady job with a steady income in a setting that allows you to thrive. However, this job will teach you priorities. Always remember how to allot your time to the things and people that matter. Know that although you had to say goodbye to this job to pursue school in a more serious manner, this job will forever have a place in your heart, and you will take these lessons into account for the rest of your life.
You will form a very genuine friendship. This is not like a friendship you have ever encountered before. You will meet her at the most inconvenient time, when you are faced with a lot of difficulty. This person will take you in and care for you, becoming a motherly figure that you never had. She will be very different from anyone that you have ever had a friendship with. Always appreciate her and do not take her for granted. You will fight with her and get annoyed because you have never experienced such a close friendship before; but love her and support her as she does for you. You will experience life changing moments with her and there's nobody else that you would want to be by your side. Always remember her, no matter what obstacles life will throw at you.
Most importantly, remember to always love and appreciate yourself. You have had such a hard time maintaining relationships, friendships, and you are very overwhelmed with the direction that you want to go in with your life. You will experience your twenty-first birthday this year and you will be conflicted with how to conduct yourself in a manner that won't allow yourself to go back to the way you used to be. It's okay to fall a few times, but always remember to stand back up. Pick yourself up, don't allow yourself to dwell in the pain and hurt brought to you by unfortunate experiences. You are stronger than you think. You are confident and you have a lot to offer the world, don't let anything or anyone tell you otherwise. You will be successful, and you will impact the world. You will write an article that will get over 500 shares and impact the lives of many millennials. You have a gift, and although you are modest, own it. Don't be afraid to share your voice, no matter how the public will feel about it. You will touch people's lives. You may hurt some people along the way, but that's okay. Live life in your own best interest, you deserve it.
Sincerely,
Me (one year later)
