YoungerMe

We all love a good acronym, so below are words of “wisdom” to my 20-year-old self

Whining – No whining allowed at 20 years old! You have your whole life ahead of you, and you will do plenty of whining when you are in your 50s. Your boobs are nice and perky, and you don’t have to pull them out of your armpits You have the metabolism of a gazelle and can eat anything you want, but eat healthier because it is harder to get out of a bad eating habit after 50

Inner validation - Don’t look for outer validation because if you do, you will never be happy. Look inwards for your happiness and go for your dreams and goals from there.

Sisterhood - Rely heavily on your sisters, whether they are by blood or found relationships throughout your life They will help to keep you sane, and all have the same struggles as you Just pick up the phone when you are feeling down, and they are always there to help you out

Dream big - You have your whole life ahead of you, so dream big and decide to pursue those dreams.

Outside grounding - Go outside and walk, hike, or sit looking over a lake Breathe fresh air Don’t worry about your hair and makeup, the birds and squirrels don’t care Walk in the rain and smell the wet earth Do this every day, and you will never say, why did I do that today?

Maturity - Don’t grow up too fast! Keep that inner child alive. The more you play the younger you will stay!

Grubbs

I could write a book to my younger self at this point, but if I had to narrow my advice down to a few things, this is what I would say…

Try not to take things too personally In the moment, this is next to impossible to do You will have some incredibly difficult characters come your way in life say your peace and walk away Realize that the shitty things people say and do to you is SO much more about them than it is about you Remove yourself from situations where you are just collateral damage in someone else's f*ckery.

Your weight is perfect. Don’t beat yourself up about your weight – you’ve always looked great Your older self looks back at pictures of you, and remembers that you thought you were “fat,” or “chubby,” or “overweight,” and you absolutely were none of those things In your 50s, you’ll have much less control over this, so know that you look amazing

Don’t dwell. Learn to let go of situations, people, jobs, and living arrangements that don’t suit you. You did your best Break the attachment and move on Don’t waste your time thinking about people who treated you poorly – it gives them WAY too much power over you – power they don’t deserve Those things are just chapters, not your story

Have more kids Your kids turned out f*cking AWESOME, have become your best friends, and it turns out that you absolutely LOVE being a mom.

Eat the cookie dough. You’ve been eating raw cookie dough (ideally with a bestie and a bottle of wine) for 30 f*cking years, and it hasn’t made you sick yet Enjoy, and you’re welcome!

Kat Hobza

I would tell that young mama to give herself the compassion she didn’t even know to wish for back then Permission to not have all the answers about how to be a “good” mom, wife, employee, daughter, sister, friend, etc, compassion to figure out what made sense for her and her family without worrying so much about what other people thought

I would tell her to be careful not to miss the gifts of the moments right in front of her because she was too busy trying to manage the possibilities ahead.

I would tell her to learn how to FEEL because walling herself off from the pain meant also cutting herself off from the joy And I would let her know that it’s everything God is bigger than her , and he is always good and faithful e not Hang in there sweet girl you

Sharon Evans