Dear younger self,
I am so proud of you. There are so many things I could take the time to talk about, but if that were the case then I would have to write a book. Things are pretty different than you ever imagined but that’s okay because change is good, and change is just another sign of personal growth.
I vividly remember sitting in my fifth-grade homeroom class writing these letters to open on graduation day. You were sitting next to your two best friends (who actually are not even your friends anymore) trying to brainstorm what to write about. In this letter I remember you writing about some of your favorite hobbies, your school experience so far and even about your hopes for the future. I think it’s funny because back in fifth grade you were so determined to become a WWE superstar and let’s just say times have changed.
Next is middle school. Middle school was kind of a blur but not as rough as you originally thought it would be. This is the time when you started to find your real friends and interests. I mean heck, you became best friends with a girl who you thought never even liked you.
The four years were a pretty crazy time in your life. Freshman year was a good experience. You figured out how to navigate through high school and also realized that it’s not as scary as everyone makes it seem. Sophomore year was a reality check. The COVID-19 pandemic broke out in 2020 and affected the next 2 years of your life. This was not just a time of Chloe Ting workouts and Tik Tok trends, but a time of just realizing stuff as Kylie Jenner would say. Throughout the next two years of the pandemic, you got your first real job at Tim Horton’s, earned your license, bought your first car and went to your junior prom. Fast forward to June of 2022, you graduated! Graduated 11th in your class, got accepted to many colleges, made some of the best memories, and started a new chapter of your life.
You are now a sophomore in college at St. Bonaventure. This is definitely not the college you thought you would attend. Oh, and about your major… yeah it changed…not once…but three times. You originally came into college as a nursing major and quickly realized that it was not for you. Once you switched out of that you were an undecided communications major. Honestly, you just chose this to get a feel for it and had no real intentions of working in that field. After that first semester was over, you decided to switch your major to Educational Studies. You chose this major because you wanted to become a school counselor since you always wanted to work with children. But don’t let this fool you because you will change your major one last time. I swear this is the last time. You will switch to Early/Childhood education in hopes of becoming an elementary teacher. Besides changing your major multiple times, college has taught you who you are not only as a student, but as an individual.
The last few things I want to tell you are mainly some pieces of advice or something to just make you feel at peace. With everything that has happened throughout your life, it all happened for a reason. I 100% believe that everything happens for a reason and God really does have a plan for you. There will be times when you feel happy, sad, upset, disgusted, and even annoyed. That’s okay because all those feelings are normal for you to feel. It’s okay not to be perfect and to actually feel those emotions. As I wrap this up, my overall piece of advice is to live your life for yourself and not for others. Be yourself and don’t worry about what anybody has to say or what anybody thinks of you. If you only focus on making everybody else around you happy, then you’re probably a nervous wreck. Please take care of yourself and stop worrying about things you can’t control.
Love,
Amanda