This weekend I turned 25 years old!! I can’t believe I have finally hit the mid twenty mark. It felt like only a year ago that I was leaving high school, wondering how my life was going to pan out, now I'm here being a proper adult and living life here down in London. It’s crazy how quickly time has flown over the past few years. Looking back I am super proud of all the things I have achieved, from the small to the big! However, there are a lot of things I know now that I wish I had known all those years ago. So to mark my 25th year, I have decided to write a letter to my younger self...
“Dear Kirsty,
I felt on the turn of our 25th Birthday it was a good time to reflect back on our life and advise you on all the things I wish I had known when I was younger. I hope you find they bring you security and a reminder that in any bad, good will always find its way to you. So here goes...
- School may not be your favourite place on the planet, but your head will make it worse for you if you let it. Remember you got this and the only person putting stress and pressure on you is yourself. Your a bright kid - trust your abilities, you will ace that test without needing to get yourself in a tiz.
- In life you will meet some amazing friends and some not so amazing friends. Everyone comes into your life for one reason or another, and some will leave just as quickly as they arrived. Learn to trust your judgement and don’t take any shit. You’re a strong lass and you should never let ‘friends’ put you down or make you feel any less than great. You did the right thing saying bye to the people who made you feel worthless and brought nothing but drama into your life. You will be left at the end of it with friends you value and trust with your life. The rest, well they just helped you along the way to finding the true friendships!
- Get out of the toilet!! In school you learnt to hide in the bathroom as a way to protect yourself and take a time out. However, it will bite you in the bum in the long run. It will give you this fear that you need to run to the bathroom anytime you feel even slightly anxious, and believe me you will be anxious a lot. Trust me, you don’t actually need to pee every 5 minutes. Trust yourself … and your bladder.
- You can do anything you set your mind to! There will come times in your life where your goals feel unachievable and small steps feel like climbing a mountain. I promise you that you can do it, and on those times where you can’t you should be so proud you tried. Every knock back and failure you experience will only make you stronger and prepare you for the wonderful things to come! No one gets anywhere without making mistakes.
- Enjoy family time. Your family are incredible and have so much love and pride in you. Never take them for granted. You will argue with them over your outfit choices and the men you date, but trust me – they have your best interest at heart and always will. Plus, when you are older you will realise they were right (about pretty much everything). Your family are your biggest cheerleaders and they always will be. Also never underestimate the power of a cuddle from your family. There will come times when you are away from home and all you want is a hug from them. Next time you see them give them a massive squeeze!!
- Learn to love yourself. You spend so much time worrying about the small details in life and the things that make you feel weak and worthless. But each detail you hate about you makes you who you are, and that person is really great. It’s okay to have moments of insecurities, but don’t let them cloud your self-worth and confidence.
- Lastly, enjoy life! Sing in the shower, Drink wine, watch Disney films, try new sports, travel and live life to the max! You will only regret the things you didn’t do rather than those you did.
Kirst, remember you got this! You always have, you just need to realise it!! I love you and I think deep down you love you too!
Love Kirsty'
...Although I wish I could write a letter to my younger self, I'm not sure if I would ever send it! Everything that has happened in my life up until this point has made me who I am and I would never want to change that person. Every downfall, every tear, every mistake has lead me to be me. Your story, every little bit of it, is what makes you! So tell me - if you could write a letter to your younger self what would you say? what advice would you give? and would you ever send it?
Until we next week...
Kirsty x