Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Letter to Myself on My 30th Birthday (Part 1)

Dear Younger Dionna,

It's me...I mean, you...I mean...well, you know what I mean.  It's our 30th birthday and I thought I'd share some things I wish I knew when I was younger.  So, here goes:

Things I Wish My Younger Self Knew
1. The shyness will go away
2. Boys do stupid things.  Make sure you surround yourself w/ girl friends who will make you smile when boys hurt you.
3. You have this awesome heart that loves hard.  Be careful w/ it because it gets hurt easily.
4. Your love of books never goes away.  But, try and diversify the kinds of books you read.  All the romance novels are going to mess up your head.  Real life if not like a romance novel and you won't realize that until it's too late.  Mysteries and sci fi books are cool too.
5.  You will NOT be married by the time you're 24 (most people aren't).  So, stop telling people that.
6.  Learn to play an instrument well.  It's sexy and makes your life as a vocalist so much easier.  I know you don't care much about that now.  But, you will later.  Trust me.
7.  Don't lose your retainer.  Be careful with it.  If you lose the one you have, Momma and Daddy aren't gonna replace it and your smile will look like that at least until you're 30.
8. Learn how to create community wherever you go.  That skill will help you in so many situations later on.
9.  Learn how to style your own hair.  If you don't, you'll always be relying on other people to take care of it.
10. Find a good hiding place for your diaries.  Everyone in your family is nosey and will read it if they find it.  It's embarrassing when they bring up the stuff you wrote in front of you.
11. Try to develop a love for exercising and eating right.  Your body changes at 30 and you will have to work harder to not be overweight.
12.  Try to like more fruits, veggies and ice cream flavors.  If you don't, people will start making fun of you for only liking 2 kinds of ice cream.
13.  Baskin Robbins Cookies N Cream is the best and that NEVER changes.  :-)
14.  Get used to your glasses now.  You'll find contacts inconvenient and annoying.
15.  Saving money is cool.  Embrace it.  It's one of those life skills that will serve you SO well when you're older and need to make big purchases.
16.  Getting good grades and being involved in a lot of activities DOES help you get into college.  But, getting scholarships helps you not be in debt up to your ears when you graduate.  So, apply for every scholarship you can get your hands on.
17.  Don't watch that Scream 2 movie that Jada Pinkett-Smith is in.  It'll mess you up and you won't be able to sit in a movie theater without fearing a psycho killer will come out.
18. Don't worry.  You'll get long division one day.
19.  Remember the first & last names of your friends from elementary school.  It'll help when you're trying to find them on Facebook later.  Oh!  You don't know what that is?  Don't worry.  You will.
20.  Love yourself.  Warts and all.  It's crucial to your happiness and peace.

That's all for now.  I know that being a kid can suck sometimes.  Being a teenager and being in your early twenties can suck too.  ;-)  But, you'll do well.  Trust me!

Love,
Me