A Letter To My 19-Year-Old Self

I love my weekly therapy sessions! I feel like my anxiety has become more manageable because of the counsel my therapist gives me. This is truly amazing because I have struggled with anxiety all my life up until just recently. This past week my therapist suggested that I write a letter of support and counsel to my 19-year-old self. I didn't think much of this exercise at first but, as all exercises in my therapy sessions do, it ended up being an important learning experience that I want to share with you!

The letter I wrote to my younger self was mostly filled with words of encouragement, but it also included some basic, yet important, advice. I suggested to 19-year-old Heather that she be more social; to make friends and to leave her comfort zone. At 19 I had become somewhat of a hermit wasn't very social, which I regret. I also asked young Heather to continue to develop spiritually; to grow and serve and gain more knowledge of the gospel. I was offered many opportunities to become more involved in my church at this time of life, but I didn't embrace those chances as wholly as I wish I would have. Looking back on 19-year-old-me, I saw many missed opportunities and friendships that could have been if I would have only tried just a bit harder.

At face value this advice seemed standard and inconsequential. Doesn't everyone look back and see things from their past that they should have done/not done? After reading this letter back to myself, however, I realized that I was being somewhat hypocritical; I was advising myself to engage in these important parts of life as a 19-year-old, but I'm not exactly working on those same things in my present life. I'm still a social hermit and I'm still not as involved in my church as I could be. Reading this letter to myself helped me come to terms with the fact that I could be doing better in these significant parts of my life. If it was important enough for me to tell my younger self to try harder, shouldn't I be doing the same thing for myself right now?

This therapeutic exercise not only aided me in soothing unresolved feelings, but it also managed to encourage me to work on the things that need attention in my life--the things that bring me the most joy and happiness in this life. I've realized a few of the struggles in my life and am encouraged to work to become better and to make these weaknesses become strengths.

If you could write a letter to your younger self, what would you say? Is there a piece of advice you'd give yourself back then that you could use in your life now?