This May, it will have been 20 years since I graduated high school.

Seriously hard to believe. How is it that 1999 was 20 years ago? That means Y2K was just about that long ago, too.

In contemplating all of this, I thought that I would do the cliche thing and write a letter to my younger self.

Dear 18-year-old me

I know that this is a big thing for you–graduating from high school.

And I know that you have no idea what you’re going to do next.

I want you to know that’s okay. You don’t have to decide now.

You’ll figure it out.

I want to tell you that there are different choices that you should make that would make your life easier.

But there’s a lot of things that you can’t control right now. There are so many things that you can’t control. So many pressures, so many expectations, so many things you haven’t figured out yet.

The one decision I wish that you would make differently would be to break up with that boyfriend as soon as you feel that feeling in your gut that it just isn’t going to work.

Okay, the decisions regarding boyfriends need some work. But you will do the best you know how to do.

Keep doing the best you know to do.

Strive to be your best self and take care of that self the best you know how.

Love learning and reading and take delight in the small things.

Listen to those who speak life into you, who speak love over you.

Read the recommended books.

Do the research.

Stay curious.

When you have the opportunity to play, do it.

I want to tell you to learn about boundaries and start setting them up. But I know that you won’t have the knowledge or the ability yet.

You know, I’d love to warn you about the disaster that’s headed your way in 4 years, but I don’t think you can handle it just yet. Just know that you have the strength to get through it and it’ll show you who you can trust and who you can’t.

Don’t let not fitting in here make you think that you won’t fit in anywhere else. You will find your people. There are only a few of them here.

If you don’t take anything else away from this letter, I want you to know that you matter just because you’re you. Your worth doesn’t come from anything else or anyone else.

Love, Me.

Your letter?

Have you thought about what you would say to your younger self?

Are there like 5 million things you’d do differently?

Or would you just take the winning lottery numbers back in time so you could win the lottery and pay for college and not have thousands of dollars in student loan debt?

Can you tell I’ve thought about this?

Would you be as kind to yourself as I’ve decided to be to myself?

Maybe your younger self deserved a swift kick in the backside to get yourself back on track sooner.

Until time travel is a thing, my letter will have to be the only way I communicate with my younger self.

When time travel happens? Well, I guess I’ll decide that then.