A Letter To Me

So have any of you heard the Brad Paisley song "Letter To Me"? I heard it a while back and liked it, but I heard it again recently and it got me thinking. If I were to write a letter to myself back when I was in high school, what would I say? I feel like so much has happened to me over the past 10 years and I have definitely matured. Sometimes I look back on things I said or did in high school and think to myself "what the heck were you thinking?"! So because I am bored at work because it is a holiday week and not much is going on, I figured I would share some of the things that I would have told myself in a letter. If you didn't know me that well in high school, some of this may not make sense.

• Don't get mad because you have to work through high school. Later in life you will realize how great of a thing this is and you will be thankful that you weren't handed everything on a silver platter
• Never regret anything that happens in your love life and don't wish you would have never dated somebody. You learn countless things from every relationship, especially the ones in high school. But at the same time, when your family tells you that the person you're dating is NOT the one for you.....LISTEN TO THEM.
• Try to stay away from drama. There are people that you're hanging out with that cause nothing but trouble. Stay away from them. Drama is inevitable in high school, but don't make it worse than it already is
• Keep going to the church in Hoover. You will meet some great people there that will change your life forever
• Prepare yourself for mom and dad. After the divorce you will keep hoping that things will get better. They're not really going to. The fighting will continue forever, but as you grow up, you will learn how to stay out of it and it will affect you less and less as the years go by
• Do not go to UAB, even for him. Later you will realize that he's not worth it. Go to Alabama and dance. Because when you look back at your favorite times in life, it won't be high school that you remember, it will be college
• DON'T START SMOKING
• One of your friends has a midnight blue mustang. No matter what happens and what situations occur, DO NOT GET IN THE CAR WITH HER IN THE MONTH OF APRIL. She will get in a car accident that will break your arm in five places and cause you not to be able to compete with the dance team your junior year. It will happen right before your 16th birthday.
• If you and Jennifer do decide to have the party at mom's house in Greystone, don't let Anna make flyers and pass them out at school. Remember that Lindsey works there and she will come across the invitation in the teacher's lounge. Actually, I take that back. That's going to be funny in a few years
• Keep your passion, but learn to use it in the right place. You are headstrong and you know what you want and you fight for it. This attitude will make things happen for you in college and in your professional career. Don't lose that passion, but try to control it a little bit better. Remember, you do not know everything!
• There's going to be that one guy in high school that you wish would commit to you, but he's not going to. You're going to try to get over him by dating pretty much anyone else. It won't work. Stay single because you'll end up breaking someone's heart in the process
• Please remember that everything happens for a reason. There will be a lot of break-ups, cheating, fighting with friends, fighting with family, and there will inevitably be days where you just have no idea what is going on with life or how to fix it. God is there with you even though you don't think about it or talk to Him all that often. He is doing what is right for you and you will see that later in life. Just keep your chin up and don't let anyone make you feel like you're not good enough or that you are asking for too much
• When you are 16, a 22 year old that you work with is going to ask you out. Say no, quit your job, and go work somewhere else
• Don't give mom such a hard time. She's doing the best she can to raise you and Jennifer. She makes mistakes and she's not perfect, but she's doing what she can
• When Katie comes back in town from Ohio, don't skip school with Lindsey and Lauren to pick her up at the airport. Or, if you do, get gas somewhere else other than at the BP on Highway 150
• Finally......when a guy in a red jeep pulls up to the house and asks you to go with him to Wendy's....go with him. You will look back on this summer as the best of your life and most of it will be spent with this one guy. Have fun going off roading with him and sneaking out with him at night and walking home with him from school. Just be aware that the relationship may not evolve the way you want it to right then, but keep a smile on your face and don't let it get to you. Because one day, 10 years after this summer, he will find you. This is the guy that you will marry.