I found this writing prompt on a blog called "Twenty Something Writers" and it intrigued me. So here goes:
If you were able to communicate with your younger self, what would you say? Would you warn yourself of the things that are to come? Would you tell yourself to avoid certain people? Write a letter to yourself at a younger age. Feel free to tell yourself anything that you’d like to. Let us know what age of yourself you are writing to.
Dear eighteen year old Johnna,
Treasure the friendship you have with Robert. It will be the one thing that keeps you laughing, keeps you positive, and keeps you strong. And try not to introduce him to your friend Amanda. It doesn't end well.
Save every email and voicemail you shared with Andrew. You'll wish you saved all the silly conversations you had with him. Years from now, you'll be regretting the fact that you can't listen to his drunken voice say "see you in awhile lyle, lyle lovett."
Listen to your gut when it comes to your first impressions of a guy you're dating. It will save you from a six month relationship that will only make you look back, laugh and ask "what was I thinking?" It will also save you from a two year relationship that should have ended the day it got started. Please know that if a guy is a douchebag within the first month, that behavior will only worsen years down the line. And no, he won't ever change. You will though. A LOT.
Take a break from all the schoolwork. You will soon find that it doesn't matter if you graduate with a 4.0 or 3.0. The underachiever who drank his way through college and barely graduated with a business degree will still manage to make at least fifteen grand more than you and your sterling academic record and liberal arts degree.
Don't tattoo Bert McCracken's name on your back. It may seem like a good idea at the time but trust me, his music doesn't get any better.
Keep an eye out for a skinny, punk rock kid named Glenn. I'm sure he's around at some concert you're going to this week. I'm fairly certain that if you met him a lot sooner, you two would be celebrating your 6 year anniversary right now. But don't worry if you can't spot him, he comes along just when you need him.
Never park in the President's driveway next to Independence Hall on the URI campus. Yes, your car will be towed and no, it won't be funny.
Don't let the pressure to be perfect from your parents make you crack. You will soon learn that you will never please them. Not now or not ever. Focus on you and know that you end up moving out just when you said you would.
Give Mike McKenna a giant hug at his last Turning Blue show. It will be the last time you see him and you will always look back to that moment and regret not saying a meaningful goodbye.
Your friends Greg, Blake, Paul and JT are still around and probably always will be. Treasure them and try to hang out with them more. You'll have fun. Promise.
Yes, you do still kind of have a crush on Ryan Muir. I still don't quite get it either.
You are going to have a pretty amazing life after you graduate college so don't worry that you won't accomplish everything you want to. You do and then some. Relax. About everything. Your grades. Your parents. Your love life. Your friends. Everything. Just take a deep breath because you will soon find out that everything has its strange way of working itself out beautifully. You'll soon realize that all the worry, the stress, the belly aches will not (and won't ever) alter what you can't control. So enjoy the next six years of your life and take everything for what it's worth. I promise you make it out alive.
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