Dear 30-year-old me,

It has truly been quite a ride through life these past years, but I know that all your hard work, dedication, ambition, as well as struggles have all been absolutely worth it in the long run.

I hope that one day you see yourself as the first person in your entire family to graduate not only college with my BBA in international business, but raising the bar even higher by graduating from graduate school with my MBA in marketing. Your love for business, marketing, and traveling has turned you into a very successful international marketing manager or chief marketing officer (CMO) for hopefully a Fortune 500 company. However, the role of CEO also sounds quite interesting, but the marketing department is more appealing to me. With your job, you have been able to travel the world, stay in nice hotels, and eat in fancy restaurants that serve all kinds of food all while doing important business meetings with other executives trying to market your company's product into their country's market.

I hope that one day due to your hard work you get to live in a large house with spacious rooms, a fireplace, and a nice pool as well as be able to drive a nice car and wear nice clothes to work and beyond. In time you will learn to cook all of your mother's delicious classic Mexican dishes you enjoyed every day while living at home and also be able to learn how to make many dishes of your own such as Italian, Asian, and other foods from all over the world.

I hope that one day you will be able to see my friends be successful with their own careers and families and that after all these years of high school and college, we all will remain in touch and be able to see each other and enjoy your adult lives together. I also hope that one day you will be able to give back to your parents all they have given to you. All the love, warm home-cooked meals, financial and life advice, and also for always being your number one fan in everything you do. You are forever grateful for all that they have done for you.

I hope that one day you will be able to wake up every morning next to the love of your life who has been by your side all this time and has never given up on you or your dreams. I also hope that every day you will also be greeted by your two, three, or four children and dog or two, who in which everyone in your house is your absolute joy in life. I want to be able to see the world with them, first with your love before you have your children and then later on once your children are old enough to remember their adventures around the world. As a mother I want to be able to provide them with all the good things there is to provide in life such as love, laughter, a loving home, good food and music, and also be able to teach them that staying humble, true to oneself, and hard work will always take you far in life.

I hope that life treats you well these next years. Keep staying humble and true to yourself no matter how successful you become, and never give up on your dreams.

Sincerely,

19-year-old me