A Letter to My 12 Year Old Self

Hey me,

It's Saturday and you should probably stop watching movies on ABC Family. Seriously go have some human interaction. And next time Mom tells you your eye liner looks horrible, well it does, but it's okay you will find it out in time.

 FYI those contacts you fought so hard to get, well you are going to hate them soon. Also please do not straighten your hair everyday, please I begging you. Cherish your friends right now, they will not be your friends anymore in a few years, but you will look fondly at all the crazy things you did when you when you were in middle school. One day I promise you will understand why you freak out around people, although it does not get much better you will accept your anxiety.

Next time your parents ask you to go hang out with their friends families, go, they are family too. Trust me the memories you have playing spoons with them is way better than anything you can watch on that princess tv in your room. I promise you are not ugly. Really you are not and you will not be alone forever. In fact in a few years you are going to met someone who will teach you love and love yourself. Things do not work out like you'd always hoped, but it is okay. Be thankful anyway.

Do not ever complain about wearing matching anything with your family, they are the only one you got and one day they won't be here. Put your phone away, I can not tell you who you are texting, but I can tell you they are not that important.

Go spend time with your brothers they will be gone to college soon and you will miss them. In two years go to Disney World with your family, not school, it will be one of your biggest regrets in life. Your family will be the most important thing to you before you know it. Also the girl with the cute clothes that Kyle brought home, well in seven years he is going to marry her and she will be the best sister you could ask for.

Sweet heart stand up and don't ever get bangs, you do not look like Lily from Hannah Montana.

Eat more fat kid sundaes, like right now, seriously go.  Also dummy when your moms bring you and Maggie to the airport for a shopping spree, seriously MK you are so gullible, you are going to New York. Soon your life modo will be "it's fine" and it is fine. Everything works out how it is supposed to so don't stress the small stuff so much. 

Love,

You in seven years.

How to Pick the Right College

As a college freshman, I am no expert on college. Is anyone really? But I did mange to pick the perfect college for me. I love my college! I fit here. I knew from the first time I stepped on campus that UNCG was the place for me.

I am sure if you are getting ready to head off to college everyone you know is asking you where are you going to college? They are probably asking you want you want study too, but that is a post for another day. If they aren't asking you where you are going or what you are going to study, they are certainly giving you advice on how to pick the right college for you. Many times I felt so overwhelmed by all of the advice coming at me and whether or not it was accurate. Like I said before I am not expert, but somehow I did manage to pick the right school for me, so if I can pass any advice to those still trying to figure it out I want to help as much as I can.

1) The first piece of advice I have is probably the most important. Choose your school for you. You may have pressures to follow in your parents foot steps to a certain school or all your friends are going to one school. You will be the happiest if you put what you want in a college first. You have the best chance of success if you feel like you belong at the school. If you don't pick the school you go to for yourself then you will probably feel lost and overwhelmed. Even if you think others will be disappointed if you don't the school they want, they are going to be proud of you no matter what and you will do the best if you choose for you.

2) Trusts your gut. This sounds so simple, but is so essential for picking the right college. I remember so many people telling me you just know what feels whats right. I thought all these people were crazy, but as it turns out they are right. You just feel it. You know when you know.

3) Tour as many schools as you can. This kind of goes with the advice above. Go to all of the schools you are thinking about going to and then some you aren't. You never know if you are going to like a school until you walk around the campus. You may hate a school you thought would be your first choice and love a school that wasn't even on your radar. Ask yourself do I see myself here? Will your personality match the vibe of the school? Try your best to get a feel of the school.

4) Do research into the schools you are looking at. Look for anything you might not know about the school, like whether you have to live in a certain dorm your first year or if there is a program that you may want to be apart of. Make sure you like the area around the school. Look at the average professor rating on ratemyprofessor.com. Try to know what you are getting yourself, won't know ever I promise, but try to prepare yourself.

5) Don't worry if your path to higher education doesn't match those around you or society's exceptions. This was a big thing for me because I did not follow the average path. It is easy to compare my path to others and feel like I am missing out, but I am not missing out my life is just different. Unlike most freshmen in college I do not live in a dorm. I go home once a week to have dinner with my mom. I own a dog and am never away from my apartment for more then five hours. This is okay. I am happy and I am still working towards my degree. The main thing to take away from all this is don't worry if things don't look like they do in the movies, as long you are happy.

Seven Things Currently Inspiring Me

• Maci - As always. She is the light of my life. She makes me laugh and smile. She reminds me to focus of the little things like the warm sunlight or being able to make our walks extra long.

• My planner - Also as always. helps me keep excited about everything going and reliefs my anxiety because i know everything I have to get done. Keeps me on track with school and Maci's schedule along with all the things I am planning for summer, which leads me to the next thing that is inspiring me. 

• Summer is just a few weeks away! - Thank goodness. I need a break from school. Thinking about walks with Mae, traveling, my moms food, and the many adventures to come this summer is what is getting me through these next couple of weeks. 

• Outdoors - Its been warm recently which makes my heart sing. Seriously I have been eating dinner on my roof doing homework outside. Maci has gotten extra trips to the park and longer walks. 

• Pinerest - This one is tricky because when I look at all the beautiful photos on Pinerest it is easy to compare myself. Recently through I have found myself doing less comparing and more striving to live my best life from these pictures. You can find my Pinerest here. 

• Flowers - Even if they are dead. Seriously waking up and seeing flowers by my bed makes me so happy! It starts my day off right. 

• Fresh produce - I went to the farmers market for the first time in a while this weekend! It was so awesome, the prices are amazing and the taste is so much better than Walmart.
  
  

Inspiration for the Next Three Years

Three years from now I will about to graduation from college. Hopefully. So I thought it would be fun to put together a little collage of photos representing what I would like the next three years encompass.  I hope that I experience happiness, hard work, good food, many books, love, great friends, lots of coffee, and some unforgettable adventures. Normally I would just make a list of all my goals but I wanted to switch things up a bit so here we go.

Going into college I had of exceptions of what it would be like, most of those have been shattered now. This is not a bad thing. College is not easy and it is certainly not like the movies, but I do know this one of the best times of my life and I want to take advantage of every second. Ready or not.