A Letter to My Younger Self

Dear me,

You are continuously growing, whether in age or in wisdom. So, there are a few things I want you to know that you might not know at such a young and immature age. I know you the best, hence I feel I can guide you the best through this letter.

1. You are enough

I can see clearly how clueless you become sometimes. It seems your life has been turned upside down because of the very tough times you are facing. Hang in there my dear. Trust me. I know it doesn’t make sense right now, but the difficulties you are experiencing, believe it or not, are meant to serve you very well later in life. You’ll stumble here and there many times but ultimately you’ll figure out everything.

Don’t ever feel that you are not good enough because that’s not true. Your health, your dreams, your hopes, your aura, your uniqueness, everything matters. So don’t underestimate yourself ever.

2. Marks are important but not the only important things to take care of.

You score well in your exams, that’s brilliant. But if your marks are not up to your expectations, that’s okay too. Yes, you need to improve yourself from time to time to perform better. But don’t be so into grades that you forget that there are other things to do as well. Your textbook knowledge is just not sufficient. There are other teachers of life as well whose lessons are equally important to you. Learn from your nature, the people around you, the sun, moon, stars, plants, and animals; they all are filled with a variety of life lessons.

3. Your family should be your priority.

No matter how much you grow up, never neglect your family. Spend as much time with them so that you won’t regret it later. Cherish each and every single moment you have with your parents. You are blessed to have a family who is always there for you. So, learn to be grateful for this precious blessing. Let them know how much they matter to you.

4. Life is unpredictable

There is nothing as unpredictable as life itself. Life will never turn out the way you think or the way you planned. No matter what your plans are, you will find that destiny has different plans for you. But don’t worry, you will soon be habituated to the uncertainties of life.

5. Surround yourself with the best people you can.

With the passage of time, you will meet different people. Some will make you feel happy, while others will be terrible. Your favorite people can even leave you sometimes. Or your friend circle may diminish as you grow up. So be ready to accept such situations. Moreover, choose your people wisely.

6. Listen to your inner voice and your true self.

Trust your vibes. If your gut feelings command you to stay away from a person or a circumstance, don’t ignore it. Your vibes never lie.

7. Rejection is not the worst thing in this world.

You will be rejected a hundred times in several fields, which can leave you completely shattered. But you need to accept that rejection is inevitable. It’s these rejections that help you to grow continuously, making you a better human being. Things get worse before they get better so never give up after being rejected.

Also read: How to deal with rejection?

8. Adulting sucks! Really.

You might be wishing to be an adult now. Well, I am much older than you and I wish I could be the same age as you. Being an adult doesn’t mean you will be wiser. Maturity doesn’t come with age but with circumstances and responsibilities.

So, never rush to grow fast. It’s the only time to enjoy your freedom. Because once you are a grown-up, you will get surrounded by so many responsibilities and commitments, that you couldn’t choose to ignore them even if you wish to.

9. It’s quite easy to make anyone’s day.

And you should do it often especially when you know, you can do so. Your one compliment can make anyone smile, forgetting all their problems. Appreciate people as much as you can. It costs nothing to be a little more generous.

10. Don’t be over-confident (in any way or in any matter).

Thinking that you are the smartest person in a room is your biggest mistake. No one is perfect and so neither are you. You should always work on improving yourself.

11. Keep your expectations a little lower.

Because it’s not always necessary that all your expectations, dreams, or desires will come true. And when it will not, you will be hurt. Nothing hurts in this world more as much as expectations.

12. Learn to say no.

Being a people pleaser can be effective only on a short-term basis, not in long term. Learn to say no to people. Say no to people when you know you can’t help them, no matter how hard you try. Say no to people who drain your energy, who always pull you down, who always make you unhappy.

13. Don’t let others change you.

Change is needed but only when you feel like it, not when others will want you to change.

14. Just live.

Do things now. Take risks. Screw up a little more times. That bungee jumping that you always wanted to do, go for it. That novel you were thinking to start writing, start it. Don’t let go of any single opportunity. Enjoy every moment now.

Don’t just postpone your happiness for some other day. Who knows that some other day can never come!

15. Don’t assume too much.

People aren’t that much worried or concerned about you. They don’t even think about you as much as you think about them. So learn to be concerned more about yourself. Moreover, don’t believe everything you see on social media. That’s a trap indeed.

16. Don’t let your inner child die ever.

Laugh out loud. Dance in the rain. Sing even when you don’t know how to sing. Take that trip. Go confess to your crush. Do anything. But keep that child-like innocence in you alive.

The sooner you will embrace the stuff that makes you unique, the easier your life gets.

17. Be flexible.

Those things that you think are important to you now, you won’t even remember in a few years. And things that you would have never dreamed of happening will occur. Losing friends, experiencing heartbreaks, facing failures again and again; no matter what the situation is, you should be ready to accept them with all your heart.

You know, there was a time when I didn’t like cooking. You can relate to this statement much more now. Am I right? And I was often scolded by Mom to learn that skill. But now, I enjoy cooking so much that I keep on experimenting with it on a regular basis. That’s how flexible we should be so that we can adjust ourselves as per the situation demands. Accept your limitations, while working on your strengths.

18. Invest in yourself.

Spend some time doing the things that you really enjoy and build yourself and your knowledge. It’s amazing how quickly time goes when you are looking at it backward. That is when you realize if you would have done just a little bit of writing every day like you always meant to, you could have launched your debut book by now.

Realize that there is really no end to your possibilities at such a young age.

And the final note that I would like to add is that I am really proud of your efforts toward leading a blissful life. You are doing the best you can. So just be yourself.

With lots of love

~Your older and wiser Self.