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letter to myself at 18


A while back, Amanda over at Shamelessly Sassy posted a letter she wrote to her 18-year-old self. I immediately saved that idea in my mental ‘blog post ideas’ file (what, doesn’t everybody have one of those?) It’s taken me a while to get around to it, but… here’s my letter.

Dear Eighteen-Year Old Jen,

Wow. So you’ve been dating that Dan kid for what- 7 months now? That’s like FOREVER in high school years. All of your friends are undoubtedly very impressed with this long-term relationship. Right now you’re claiming your undying love for him and you’re feeling all those crazy teenager-feelings and you write incredibly dorky and cheesy poems about him and say you want to marry him, but really you don’t truly believe that it will happen. You HOPE it to be true, but these days, who ends up marrying someone they met in high school? Amazingly enough- it WILL happen. You will be his wife one day. And you will give birth to his daughter, who is even more amazing than you could ever imagine. Who knew taking that job at Wendy’s would make such a difference in your life?

Also: Mom knows you never went to see the movie ‘Ransom’ and went parking somewhere instead. She’s not stupid. When she asked you the boy’s name in the movie, you should have JUST MADE ONE UP. She was totally testing you. LYING FAIL.

You’re just about ready to leave high school, and if I remember correctly, you’re not very sad about it. Sure, the last day of school you’ll cry a few tears and act incredibly melodramatic about the whole thing with your friends, which is both expected and encouraged. You’re 18, after all. There will never be another time in your life when being melodramatic is acceptable. After this it will just be lame. Leaving high school is a pretty big deal- but mostly, I recall that you were pretty okay with the whole thing. You had been going to school with those same 140 people for 12 years and DUDE, it was time to move on.

In a few months, you’ll be starting college. You’ve chosen Biology as your major. Would you believe me if I told you that you will ultimately end up doing something completely unrelated to that by the time you’re 25? Yeah, didn’t think so. Right now you think that all you want to do is learn about science and maybe go to grad school and work in a lab. Talk to me in 5 years when you graduate and realize that the janitor is getting paid more to change lightbulbs and collect the recycling than you are for studying cancer drugs. Things change, my friend.

All that being said, college will still be very rewarding for you. A little unconventional given the school you’ve chosen (One foot on the floor, and a shoe in the door, Kids!) but still rewarding. You will get your first F on an exam and have to drop a class. You will also deal with more stress and pressure than you ever thought possible. But hang in there, it’s all worth it. You will make some fantastically amazing friends in the next few years. And in the end, all that time you spent on that computer instead of studying like you probably should have been doing? It will pay off.

The next 10 years will be amazing and exhausting and wonderful. And they will go by so quickly. Everyone is probably telling you that now, and you’re like WHATEVER (and you’re probably making a ‘W’ sign with your fingers, that is SO “in” for you right now.) But trust me- you’ll blink and suddenly you’ll have a husband, a house, a business, a baby… and some days when it’s particularly crazy, you’ll wonder how the heck you ended up here. So just slow down and try to enjoy things, before you’re 29 1/2 and like WHOA. How’d that happen?

At this moment, I am over 11 years older than you are. And I supposed that should give me some kind of advantage, some wisdom or some great advice or something. But honestly? Most of the time I feel just as awkward and unsure about Life as you do (come on, admit it- you’re unsure. Even if you’d like everyone to think you aren’t.) I still sometimes question my abilities. I still feel like a huge dork most of the time and I still suffer from Foot-In-Mouth Disease on occasion. And I can’t really tell you the secret to life, because I haven’t learned it yet. Maybe another 11 years? I’ll keep you posted.

Love
Your Future, Much-Older Self

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moodypeach.net » Blog Archive » letter to myself at 18

[...] (Idea stolen from Amanda and Jen.) [...]

Aug 30 at 3:10 pm


8 Comments


  1. Priscilla

    Aug 28 at 10:14 pm

    Wow, I loved this. For some reason, it made me tear up.

    I did have to laugh at the W sign because we thought that was so cool!

    To 18 year old Jen,
    You are tons of fun to be around, you are smart, caring and just wonderful…….you will be all of those and more in 11 years!

    I really loved this post. :)



  2. megan

    Aug 29 at 5:26 am

    this was really sweet, and a great idea! Loved the bit about your mum knowing that you didn’t go to see Ransom – you should show this letter to Maggie when she’s 18. Mothers know everything :-D



  3. Jen

    Aug 29 at 8:44 am

    @Priscilla: aw thanks ;) It was fun to write.. but I have to say, I was having trouble remember what it was like to be 18!! Seems like another lifetime.



  4. Sunshine

    Aug 29 at 9:20 am

    I was just going to comment that 18 seems like a lifetime ago. Even though I can’t believe I’m on the verge of 30, 1997 (and even being at Grove City) just seems like it was lived by a different person! (But I guess that’s a good thing since I really wouldn’t want to be the same person at 30 that I was at 18!)



  5. Becca

    Aug 29 at 11:26 am

    That’s such a great idea! It’s only been 5 years since I was 18, and I’m not sure I could remember as much as you did.

    Beccas last blog post: Holiday Weekend



  6. Shamelessly Sassy

    Aug 29 at 2:57 pm

    Oddly enough, I’m afraid the same will happen with my Biology degree. But hopefully, all of the time I’ve spent writing instead of studying will pay off. haha. This was a great letter. Thanks for participating and linking me.



  7. Melissa

    Aug 29 at 9:02 pm

    What a great letter! It’s amazing how things turn out so differently than we plan sometimes–but better! :)