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Like many of you, I have plenty of things that I wish I could have told my younger self. Whether that’s experiences I should have pursued or toxic relationships I should have ended earlier – there’s so much I wish I had known. On the other hand, through my experiences I learned about the world and the role I play in it. I have grown emotionally, spiritually, and well, physically since my tumultuous teenage years. While I have no regrets about who I am today, if I could go back and talk to myself this is what I would say.
An open letter to my younger self:
Dear Paul,
Wow. College graduation is just around the corner. Look how far you’ve come! You didn’t know it at the time, but graduating high school was just the beginning.
Brigham Young University – Idaho needed to happen. As much as you have mixed feelings on the learning environment, it was a place that you created lasting relationships. It was there that you picked the college major that you would carry with you as you transferred not once, but several times, until you finally ended up at your sixth university, the University of Utah. Life isn’t a linear chart. It’s okay to take time to explore who you are, what makes you feel fulfilled, and how to live as an optimistic in a pessimistic world.
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Not only in college, but in life you will grow immensely. I know it’s hard to believe, but the world can be beautiful despite the hurt that people will inflict. The world is a good place. Look for the good in people and you will find it. Life will undoubtedly guide you to some incredible people – let these people be your role models. Be a role model yourself. People look up to you, some you would never guess.
Remain humble. Share your story authentically.
Open up about your identity and how that led to your love of travel, culture and the exchange of stories. Your passions are part of who you are – don’t dim that light. Don’t give up on the goals you’ve set. Your fears are valid, but you cannot let your experiences in life be determined by them. Your potential is only limited by your imagination.
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If you forget everything I said and you only remember one thing, it is this: you are loved. You have an amazing support system that will be tried and tested over the next few years. It will withstand the roller coaster that will be your early 20s. Your friends and family will see you through crippling heartbreak and immense joy; all part of the intense process of giving up the identity you were raised to be, and accepting yourself as the imperfectly beautiful human being that so many have grown to love (or hate, but the haters don’t count 😉 ). If I could send you a book of inspirational quotes, I would. But since I’m restricting myself to this letter (because millennial attention span), I will leave you with this one last thought:
A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. Five years from now, you’ll be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines! Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.*
Explore. Dream. Discover. Succeed.
With love,
Paul
*adapted from a quote by Mark Twain.
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