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Every individual has their own journey, their own obstacles that they have had to overcome and their own share of successes too. While the present and future may seem overwhelming, it’s comforting to reflect on how far you’ve come. What lessons were you taught along the way and how have you grown as a person?  Just as how plants are watered by storm and nurtured by sunshine, the negative and positive experiences in your past has allowed you to become who you are today.

Life happens so gradually that the details are often missed. You change every single day, but the change is so imperceptible that it doesn’t become apparent until you reflect on it later. It’s a hidden thread that runs through all the seemingly unrelated series of events in your life. Hindsight is 20/20, and you’re now able to see how one event led to the next, how all the puzzle pieces fit together. Yet in the moment, you can’t have known where taking that diverging path in the yellow woods would’ve taken you.

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Life is a book that is continuously being written every day. The protagonist will have their own unique conflicts, be it internal or external. By the end of it, the protagonist will have completed the hero’s journey and undergone significant character development. I am the protagonist of my own story. I have been through many chapters in my life and each day I get 24 hours to explore my story a bit more. Yet there are still many pages left that I cannot skip ahead to find out what happens. That is how life is: the unchangeable nature of the past, the fleeting time of the present, and the intriguing mystery of the future.

As I approach my final year of high school, I feel like it’s important to reflect on my journey so far. This is what I would tell my younger self:

It’s okay to go outside of my comfort zone, because it can be very rewarding. I shouldn’t be so worried about things, because many of the situations that I picture in my head never actually come true. It’s better to have a group of close friends rather than a large group of acquaintances that I only have a shallow relationships with. I should be concerned about my future, but at the same time, realize that life isn’t linear anyways and I should go with the flow. Things will work out in the end.

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Here’s what other people had to say to this question: “If you travel back in time, what would you tell your younger self?“

“I would tell my younger self that being in a sport is important but not to not let it run your life. Family, friends and ultimately school are more important and being in the present is key to living a happy life.” – Sarah (YAA)

“I would tell myself, ‘God is the whole point! Stop putting him in a box!‘” – Maddie (YAA)

“I would tell myself that silence was never the right option. I thought that being silent and not giving them any attention, would make them stop, but that’s what would eventually drive me to a point where I was miserable, and I felt really alone. But I also stayed silent, in hopes that if I didn’t tell anyone, that the problems would disappear, but my problems just kept cutting me more until I decided that silence was not the answer.” – Ronica (YAA) 

“I would tell myself that life is not about pleasing others. You’ll NEVER be happy if you are too busy worrying about others judging you. And most importantly, you don’t need black or white answers, embrace grey. Grey is beautiful. Grey is the truth.” – Malika (YAA)

“I’d tell myself that it’s not worth my time thinking about people who probably don’t think about me. What IS worth your time is surrounding yourself around the people and things you love. Do not dwell on the past when the future is all around you.” – Emily (YAA)

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“Get the job done and you’ll be okay.” – Darin

“Something I would tell my younger self is that the struggles you’re going to go through (physically, mentally, emotionally) do not define the kind of person you are. You’re doing everything you need to be doing, and I don’t expect anything more than what you can handle. Keep doing what you’re doing because it will pay off in the future.” – Anonymous

“I wouldn’t want to change anything about my life, other than my mental and physical health. It would save me a lot of trouble.  Yeah, I still needed to learn the lessons that I did so I wouldn’t want to change anything. I would give myself advice on how to cope with mental illness (depression and anxiety). And I would make sure I got it across that weight or physical appearance doesn’t matter, and that I just need to focus on being healthy. Eating healthy, not wasting money on junk food and not skipping out on opportunities to be active. If I had to say anything at all, I think life has conditioned me the way I’ve needed it to.” – Anonymous

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“I would tell myself to be myself and to be more independent when I had the chance. I realized now that if I am scared and hiding who I am, it’s not worth it for others around me. Only some people get to see the real me which means I am only comfortable with them and not in other situations. I’m normally someone who would go around and talk to people, not hide myself and be shy because I was with someone specific. So I would definitely tell myself not to hide behind the shadows of others. I would be more independent so that I can move forward easier and be more confident with what I have to offer. I also would be able to be self-reliant and self-sufficient in my school life and in my family life.” – Nabila

“I would tell myself to not be afraid of expressing my opinion and staying true to my beliefs. The beauty of the world is the diversity of opinions and thoughts. Fitting in should be frowned upon, instead you should celebrate yourself and explore the unique qualities within.” – Ilya

“First of all, I would tell myself to smarten up and stop hanging out with basement friends.* I would then try to explain all of the stuff I know now about cosmology and astrophysics because I could advance even further than I have now in my understanding of the universe.” – Colton

*Basement friends are friends that are discouraging and bring you down, as opposed to “balcony friends” who support you and help you grow.

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“Love and let love in. It’s okay to be cautious and protect yourself from the hate just remember to not protect yourself from the love as well.” – Armina

“If I could go back in time, I’d tell my younger self to not worry so much about what everybody around you is doing. Try out as many things as possible even if you look stupid doing it. You never know who or what you might fall in love with.” – Anonymous

“Time is a resource, treat it as such. Feel free to try new things and more importantly fail. Also, compounding interest can make you a lot of money if you plan ahead.” – Anonymous

“Love is stupid. Leaps of faith are dangerous, but fun.” – Anonymous

“I would tell my younger self to not try so hard to fit in. I spent a lot of my childhood trying to get into what I thought was the “cool crowd” that I feel like I didn’t get to genuinely enjoy myself. I let the words of insignificant people impact the way I viewed myself and the decisions I made. Now when I look back, I feel pretty pathetic for allowing people to treat me the way they did. I should have surrounded myself with better people who radiated good energy, instead of sticking around negativity that only hindered my mental growth.” – Anonymous

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“A lot of things, starting off with don’t believe everything that everyone says. Listen with your ears but not with your heart is what I think of now. Everyone deserves to be loved and have kindness come their way. There is already so much negativity in the world, no need to contribute to it. And I deserve to be loved too. If I don’t like the way someone is treating me, then I have the right to tell them. I have the right to stand up for myself and to voice my thoughts and opinions.

Procrastination is a way of life. You know how hard it is to stay up every night, barely getting any sleep finishing up assignments, so why not just get them finished? If you don’t understand it, move on to other work and come back to it. If you still don’t get it, your teachers will be here in the morning to help, but you also have to make that effort to get there for them to help you.

Everything has a consequence. You can’t justify your wrongdoings, so apologize. Words hurt just as much as actions, so what you say and do will come back and bite you in the ass. For every word, choice, and action, no matter how big or small, there is a consequence.” – Anonymous

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“I was looking through my old journal entries and it occurred to me just how pessimistic I was about myself. So if I could go back in time, I’d tell my younger self that all those things I don’t like about myself are either not true or not worth a single second of my time worrying about. It’s so dumb, the things I wrote. I want to grab her by the collar and be like “You are so much more capable than you think!” and then slap her upside the head a few times.

I said things like, I’m not talented or good at anything, no one likes me, my personality sucks, I don’t look nice, etc. But the thing that hurt to read the most was that I thought I would never change, that I’d always be good for nothing and whatnot. I want to tell her to believe in herself more. I think I could have done so much more back then had I been less doubtful about my abilities. And I guess I’d tell her to believe in her future self a bit more too. I actually turned out half decent haha. TAKE THAT, DUMB MIDDLE SCHOOL ME.” – Naoreen