Reflections on 1-29: Thoughts on life to a younger me (or anyone else younger than me)

• Finishing school and getting a "real" job doesn't mean you have to "be a grown up" or grow up. Just become more responsible and mature.  
• Be conscious of your body, but don't be self-conscious.
• It is OK to cry and be sad, or angry or depressed - but you must acknowledge and identify it before you can move past it.
• HIDE YOUR DEBIT CARD WHEN YOU ARE DRINKING. Put some cash in pocket and limit how much dough you spend.
• Find the laughter in everything (including yourself).  Even a bad day, a bad haircut, or a bad boyfriend (the laughter usually comes after the break up, but it will happen).  
• Life is gonna suck once in a while.  OK, more than once in a while.  But, you do your best to fix it, acknowledge what happened, accept it, learn from it - and come out stronger and smiling (or in my case, giggling).  You may be battered and bruised, but you can make it all better with a smile. Keep calm and carry on.
• You are not going to look like those models in YM, Seventeen, whatever.  Accept the genes you are dealt, work to stay healthy, and own your body.
• Don't ever be ashamed of having a vulnerable moment - we are allowed one or two.  Don't overcompensate for it. Allow yourself to be the damsel in distress once in a while.  Trying to be too strong can make you weaker.
• Some days it's a bitch, it's a bummer - you need a rock'n'roll show in the summer. Escape reality, even for a hot minute.
• Life usually won't live up to your daydreams - and that's OK.  We all want and deserve the fairy tale (or the rom com).  Even though it may not go as planned, you may still get that fairy tale happy ending.  And if you don't, make your own.
• A song can be your best friend, your worst enemy or the key to a memory.  Or eventually it will be all 3.  Cherish each one.
• Your body is your own.  Don't sleep with that dude/chick just because you want to keep him around/please him/whatever... but, if you have the desire to shack up with him/her with no strings attached, then be safe, and do your thing.  Don't let your ownership (and safe use) of your sexuality label you a "slut" or "floozy" or whatever else they will call out. It is your body, your choice - take care of it. Don't be ashamed.  I am in no way promoting promiscuity or unsafe recreation, but I am promoting personal decisions, and these situations should be no different - as long as you take the appropriate precautions.
• Don't be afraid to let your whole heart go. No matter the pain you may have felt before, nothing hurts more than losing someone because you were afraid to go all in, or because you were afraid they would hurt you too.  After vetting, let them in.
• Wear sunscreen.  Seriously.  Sun poisoning sucks.
• Go do things by yourself - it is perfectly OK to see a concert, catch a flick, see a ballgame alone.  The only person you have to decide with is yourself; you can get there when you please; you don't have to worry about sharing popcorn or soda; you can sneak into different seats; you aren't pressured to leave early/get there late.  Whatever. And, you can make friends.
• If someone burns you, it is ok to forgive and give them one more chance (if they are deemed worthy).  They do it again, that means it was more than a lapse in judgement or a mistake, and they are not worth the time. 
• You may feel the stab of jealousy once in a while.  And that is OK, but don't let it consume you.  Suck it up and realize that you are better than they are.
• Stay true and loyal to those who share those views, and are true and loyal to you.  The definition of loyalty may seem muddled at times, but you will know.  If people don't have your back, they are not worth your time - no matter how "cool" or "hot" or "popular" they may be.  They won't be there in the end.
• It is OK to be a "nerd" about whatever you geek out about - baseball, comics, movies, music.  Embrace it, own it, be it.  
• Seek and ye shall find.