*Apparently my blog posts this week need to be named after song lyrics. Thanks, Brad Paisley, for today’s post title.
As I get closer to turning 30 (yes, I still have a full year ahead of me, but I tend to jump ahead a year. As soon as I turn 29, I’ll start saying, “I’m almost 30.” Just like when I turned 28, I was already saying, “I’m almost 29.” Whatever.) … Anyway, as I get closer to turning 30, I’m kind of looking back and thinking about what I’ve done and accomplished and also what I’ve missed.
So if I could write a letter to myself, this is what I’d say.
Dear Erin,
Let’s just get this out of the way. You spend way too much time putting yourself down. Apologizing for your size, your skin and your height. Love yourself. Don’t worry about those things. People can be mean, but ignore them. They obviously don’t care anything about getting to know you for who you are. And the day will come when you actually enjoy exercising and those freshman 40 will come off!
Enjoy being single. It’s hard not having a boyfriend when everyone else always seems to have a boyfriend, but there are only so many years in your life when you’re single. Being married is absolutely wonderful, but the best part of that is sharing your life with your best friend. So, in the mean time, spend time with your friends and enjoy every second of it. Enjoy your youth. Take advantage of long weekends and go on trips.
Travel more. When kids (and pets) come along, it really makes it difficult to just scoot out of town. Go places! See things. Do the things you’ve always wanted to do while it’s easy!
Stop looking to the next thing. Stop wondering when you’ll get married or when you’ll have babies. Life isn’t about having a checklist and marking things off the list. You want to experience every little thing and live in every moment. Don’t wish those moments away because you’re looking for the next big thing to happen.
Other people, and their opinions, do not define you. Don’t worry about what people will think if you don’t go out that night. Quit putting pressure on yourself to say “yes” to everyone. Focus on God and run to Him when you’re looking for your self-worth.
There are very few things in this life that you need. There are a lot of things that you want. But if you get everything you think you want, you’ll forget why you wanted any of it in a month anyway. Save money. Be responsible. This is the one area where you should look to the future and not live in the moment!
Try not to let things get you worked up. Don’t cry. Things may seem like a big deal right now. You may be stressed about which job you’ll accept and you don’t know where you want to live. It’s hard to make life choices when you’re just deciding for yourself. But it’s also a huge blessing! You’ll see very soon that your tears and stress weren’t all that necessary as things start to fall into place. God’s perfect plan will reveal itself.
Cling to your friends and family. Your family is forever and your good friends and the memories made with them will help shape your life.
Don’t be defined by insecurity, lack of contentment and things. These are your “problem areas” but you can overcome them if you fix your heart on the Lord.
Don’t be overcome with worry. Fulfill your responsibilities, but don’t let things keep you awake at night. Don’t procrastinate and just hurry up and get things done, so you can avoid that worry later.
Enjoy your youth. You’ll be looking at yourself in the mirror one day and the slight physical changes will be very obvious to you. You’ll find yourself wondering where the time went. But you’ll also be looking forward to what’s ahead and hopefully looking back with appreciation.
Love,
Me
I’m excited about entering the last year of my 20s. I’ve heard already from so many of you that the best is yet to come. The next decade should not be filled with a lot of the struggles, heartache, doubt and worry that I mentioned above. We learn so much in our 20s, don’t we? There is so much freedom that comes in this decade and we have to figure out what to do with all of that.
What would you say to your then-self in a letter?