It's hard to see past Friday night

Remember the blog project I did in 2010 with three other women? Well, Froggie decided to resurrect it with me and we each got to invite another friend to join us. She invited a mutual friend (someone I met through her) and I invited a friend whose blog I really enjoy reading. So now it's Froggie, Mom of Many, Moma Rock and Merrylandgirl. Hope you enjoy the topics that we'll be exploring!

This week, Froggie picked the topic: Write a "Dear Me" letter to your younger self. (You can choose any point in time.)

Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
Froggie
Mom of Many
Moma Rock

The subject line is from a song that is so fitting for this week's topic: "Letter to Me" by Brad Paisley. (I am not surprised he's the voice behind this song as I love his music.)

I have trouble writing without some sort of structure, so I've decided to go the route I've observed on the fabulous chick lit blog (aside from my own, of course), Chick Lit is Not Dead. They do "5 Things I'd Tell the Teen Me" with their authors and it's a fun feature.

Therefore, I'm going to share 5 things that I'd tell the teen me:

1. Not getting into a play/musical isn't life or death (even though Rachel Berry from "Glee" would disagree). The people who got all the lead roles in plays are not celebrities in this day and age. And you got an award for being behind the scenes, so bravo for that!

2. You'll one day be able to relate very well to the girl you were friends with who practically became Orthodox overnight. (And you're friends with her on Facebook now.) Don't give her a weird look for not sitting at your table at lunch during Pesach to avoid chometz getting in her food; you may be on the receiving end of those weird looks one day for not loading dairy items in the meat dishwasher. And eat every cheeseburger like it's your last because someday it will be.

3. Travel before you have kids. Go on a huge vacation. Visit Hawaii or backpack through Europe. But don't make St. Joseph, Michigan, your last getaway before your first child arrives. It's a cute town, but not exotic or anything. (And if that does end up being your last getaway before kids, make sure your husband doesn't drink from the same cup as someone who has strep before you travel!!!)

4. You were so good at Spanish but then you gave it up. What were you thinking?!?

5. Three words: It gets better. :) (And you may be so inclined to write an article for a parenting blog telling other teens the same thing.)

There are other things I wouldn't mind telling myself, but maybe I'll save them for another post. There are some things I wrote about already anyway, such as my regret about not going to prom when I had the chance. I also hope I listen to what the 45 year old version of myself has told me.

Senior pic, taken in 1993

With my first car, sometime in 1994