Anyway, the point of that story is that I often think about my desire in college to be urban and wear high heels and have a soundtrack for my life as I walk sassily (sassily?) down city streets. My desire to live a saturated picture-perfect life full of awesome and cupcakes (okay I have that, it's just not picture-perfect). And the reality is that I just bought my first pair of high heels only a couple of years ago and I live in the suburbs and high heels aren't really comfortable and my job is not glamorous.
And then I was looking through other posts and just laughing at my silly self. So naive. So impatient with being in college. I started making a mental list of things that I wish my younger self had known. Granted, I had many older role models to tell me that I should/shouldn't do these things, but who wants to listen to the voice of experience? NO ONE. So, here are some notes to my younger self. It's not really unsolicited advice because my younger self only exists amidst memories of waffle night and half hour dance parties. Maybe one day my kids will learn from my mistakes. Or some other college kids will listen to the wise words of wise Hannah.
- Don't be so eager to grow up. There are only so many years you can spend laying around poolside and getting sweaty at Half Hour Dance Party and singing karaoke and wearing your retainer/sleeping with a teddy bear and calling your parents to borrow money. Treasure those years.
- Also treasure the years that you live by Rory Bruggeman. Don't ask--just trust me:
- And treasure your girlfriends. There's no way to make that sound not cheesy but one day you won't be able to make it to weddings and other major life events and you'll feel sad.
- Don't kiss boys that you are pretty sure don't really like you back. Especially not if they wear pants that are tighter than yours. (You'll really regret this one later.)
- Don't be afraid to move out and move on. (I mentioned this in my "Secrets" post.) It will always be scary and you'll still sweat when you have anxiety but you'll get over it and make new friends and everyone will like you.
- Start making a habit of working out RIGHT NOW, because when you get busier it will get harder, and you will start gaining weight without warning and spider veins will start appearing before you know it. And you won't be able to stop it. I'm just saying. Fast metabolism will NOT always be on your side.
- Cutting off 9 inches of hair makes you really dateable.
What would you tell your younger self?
I would tell myself, make an effort to get to know that Hannah girl better. She's really cool. Also if you're friends with her you'd feel more comfortable showing up at the Half Hour Dance Party. Also, I'd tell myself it's not embarrassing to be comfortable with your own sex appeal. (I said "sex.")
ReplyDeleterose, we call it "seh" appeal around here.
ReplyDeleteThere were so many of yours that triggered thoughts for my younger self. But I'll stick to one. I'm the exact opposite: I would have told myself a LONG time ago to grow my hair 9 inches LONGER. It made me much more dateable, lol.
ReplyDeleteaahaha. when i cut my hair my roommate megan said "short hair makes you so dateable." and then robbie asked me on our first date. so, you know. that's what i say :) now i'm growing out my hair just to remember the good old days of having hair way too heavy for the humidity.
ReplyDeletehey i went to one of your waffle nights once! with brittany! yum, waffles.
ReplyDeletehalf hour dance parties!! those were fun. remember when I wore a pink sports bra on the outside of my shirt to one? I think that was supposed to be 80s...not sure why. haha.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you about the girlfriends. I had great times but definitely didn't appreciate them enough because I was always worried about guys I liked. I'd tell myself don't be in a rush to find love and don't feel left out when other people find it before you. You will find someone who loves you even though you are not skinny and blonde.
ReplyDeletei appreciate this post. i second every one of these things.
ReplyDeletewhat a graphic designz masterpiece. Those really were the days. Bless you hanner.
ReplyDeletethat waffle night haircut was so epic. i miss you.
ReplyDeleteShort hair is the best. A great short haircut gives a girl attitude and sass and totally makes her dateable. I remember when I did the freshman year chop, one of my new girlfriends said, "It's like the fun Eliza came out." (don't know what that says about how boring I was before.)
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what I would tell my younger self. I think I appreciated the time I had lying by the pool and sleeping in. I don't especially have regrets about that. I make an effort to appreciate my life now too because I know I will miss it when it changes. For instance, now that Theo is getting older, doesn't always nap and has preschool to get to, I miss being able to laze around in the morning and nap in the afternoons.
As far as real regrets, as I said, I think I sufficiently appreciated the freedom of college and "no kids" life. But I truly regret not being more sensitive at about age 17-23 to the needs of others, particularly those who are in a different stage of life from me. When I was in those early college years I was pretty wrapped up in my own thing and didn't always notice when others might have benefited from my service. I regret that now, although I think I have learned from it in an overall positive way. I still get wrapped up in my own family's needs but I think (I hope) I have better peripheral vision than I used to. All I can do now--since I can't change the past--is keep that habit up so I keep getting better at it, since there is lots of room for improvement.
'Summertime, no parents!' I dunno- maybe, 'Eat more ramen and don't spend so much money on food and toys'. I really like eating and I don't really regret that, but it's probably sensible. 'Apply yourself in Arabic class- you WILL need it'. 'Don't pay so much attention to crushes- it won't work out anyways and you might as well have fun doing other things than stressing about stupid(no offense) girls'. 'that Megan girl who's friends with Hannah isn't mean- in fact she's totally awesome and you should totally become friends at least three years earlier than you did'. 'Go ahead and buy twin tip skis and a nice bike from the start- you're just going to spend the money you saved on expensive food'. 'waffle night is always a good time- you should go more often'. 'don't move to riverside, south campus is where it's at'.
ReplyDeleteCreepy man, I was just telling Andy last night I had some things I wish I could have discussed with my younger self.
ReplyDeleteAnd by "Creepy man", I meant "Creepy, Man". Andy isn't a Creepy Man and neither am I. At least not the man part?
ReplyDelete