5 Things I would Tell my 20 Year Old Self.

(One of my modeling photos from when I was 20)

While going through an old photo album recently I came across the above photograph. The first thing I thought was “I was so skinny! And where is that bathing suit?” then I remembered that I threw it out, because I could no longer fit it (Insert Sad Face here). Then that got me thinking a lot. Which led to me writing this post.

Here are 5 Things I Would Tell my 20 Year Old Self:

1. Your Fast Food Habit Will Catch Up to You- When I was 20, I thought I could eat horribly all the time and never gain a pound. Which was true. Up until this past year where I wasn’t as active and my metabolism slowed down.  I would love to sit my 20 year old self down and force feed her some broccoli, instead of all that Chickfila.

2. Not Everyone Has to Like You- At 20, I was really concerned about having as many friends as possible. I thought that all the friends I made would be people I’d still be close with today. Although I’ve made some amazing friends who I’m still super close with, looking back I would tell myself that its all about quality when it comes to friendships, not quantity.

3. Stop Spending Money Like a Trust Fund Baby- When I think about how much money I was spending when I was 20, it makes me cringe. Between the money from modeling and working at a bar, I was making decent money for a 20 year old and I didn’t save one red cent. At the time I thought it would never run out. I’d love to shake the crap out of my 20 year old self and make her open a savings account.

4. Quit Partying Like Everyday is Spring Break– When I was growing up, I was raised in an extremely conservative Christian family, so when I was 20 I kind of lost it and went off the deep end with all the going out and partying. It didn’t help that I was living in Fort Lauderdale (where the mentality truly is that everyday is a weekend day) 20 minutes from Miami. If I could talk to my 20 year old self, I’d explain to her about how life is all about balance. That she doesn’t need to go out every night for fear that she might miss out on something, because after awhile all those nights start to run together. All the faces start to look the same. All the songs are repeated, and you start to lose a sense of who you are as a person.

5. You’re Independent Attitude is Just Downright Selfish- At 20 years old, I was all about being independent. I wanted to do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it. I would tell myself now, that there’s a huge difference between being independent and just being downright self absorbed. My so called independence ended hurting people I care about, as well as hurting myself.

I hope this makes you laugh. I also hope it makes you question what you would tell your 20 year old self. I’d love to hear what you guys come up with!

Happy Monday!