What is something you wish you could tell your 20-year-old self?

Dear 20-Year-Old Me: Sit Down, We Need to Talk

If I could go back and have a conversation with my 20-year-old self, first of all, she’d probably ignore me.

She was stubborn. She thought she knew everything. She had big hair, big dreams, and absolutely no clue what was coming.

But if I could get her attention for five minutes, here’s what I’d tell her.

First, sweetheart, when you get to college, skip a few of those education classes and go get a business and marketing degree.

Trust me on this one.

The family business? That’s where it’s at.

One day, the world is going to revolve around online marketing, social media, branding, videos, and digital content. People are going to make entire careers posting on Facebook and Instagram. I know that sounds ridiculous right now because you’re still trying to figure out how to program a VCR, but believe me.

Stay close to the family business.

It’s been there all along.

And here’s another thing: family is where the real investment is. Jobs change. Friends come and go. Trends fade. Family is the constant.

Speaking of friends…

Choose them wisely.

There are a few people walking into your life that I would personally like to meet in a dark alley with a rolled-up newspaper.

They are not your friends.

They’re going to bring drama, gossip, chaos, confusion, and enough stress to qualify as a part-time job.

They’re going to smile to your face, talk behind your back, talk about everybody else, and somehow convince you they’re innocent every single time.

Run.

Don’t walk.

Run.

If every room they enter turns into an episode of a reality TV show, that’s your sign.

Now let’s discuss dating.

Oh Lord.

Pull up a chair.

You know that guy?

Yep.

THAT guy.

The one who got away.

The one you kept circling back to for years.

The one you compared every other man to without even realizing it.

Yeah… him.

Date him.

Choose him.

Don’t overthink it.

Don’t listen to everybody else’s opinions.

Because spoiler alert: he was the one.

Life takes you both in different directions, and years later you’ll still find yourselves talking and wondering what might have been.

But life doesn’t come with a rewind button.

You don’t get to go back and replay the game after you’ve seen the score.

And maybe that’s one of the hardest lessons of all.

The truth is, if I could go back and change everything, I don’t know if I’d really want to.

Because every bad decision taught me something.

Every heartbreak made me stronger.

Every friendship disaster taught me what real friendship looks like.

Every wrong turn eventually led me somewhere I needed to be.

Would life have been easier?

Maybe.

Would it have been better?

Who knows?

That’s the thing about hindsight. It gives us answers to questions we can no longer change.

So if I could leave my 20-year-old self with one final piece of advice, it would be this:

Stop worrying so much.

The things keeping you awake at night won’t matter nearly as much as you think they will.

Love your family.

Trust your gut.

Protect your peace.

Take more chances.

And for heaven’s sake, buy the beach condo sooner.

You’re going to spend the rest of your life trying to get there anyway.

Love,

Your older, wiser, slightly sassier self

P.S. Invest in good coffee, comfortable shoes, and don’t waste expensive mascara crying over people who weren’t worth it.