Mandy's Heartfelt Letter Everyone Should Write To Their Younger Self.

Dear 7 year old Mandy,

I can see the pain in your eyes. The bullies have really tried to beat you down with all the "fat" jokes and teasing. But I also can see the hope and light in there too. You need to know that "this too shall pass." There will always be bullies in your life, but you will rise above it and learn to brush it off and you will learn to stick up for people you see being bullied. It is painful now, but it will mold you into the caring and loving young woman that you will become...I promise! You will love and respect people and people will love you.

Okay very important!! You have beautiful, long curly hair, but at that age how were we supposed to know how to handle it? Well here is the future talking to save you years and years of struggling,HAIR PRODUCTS! Get some!!

Next, the friends that you meet at this young age will be very important in your life and although you don't see much of them now, they play a very important part of your "growing up." Cherish it and remember it. 

Let's fast forward to your first day of college....OH MY GOSH! You literally had to be dragged, driven and dropped off. You were so fearful that people would not like you and you flashed back to your 7-year-old self of being tormented! Thankfully, you went and loved it! You have now just graduated from Ramapo College and are getting ready for Grad School. Mom and Dad are so proud of you. Speaking of mom and dad, well nothing has changed really since age 7 with them. Dad still worries 24/7 about you and you are mom's little clone! We are blessed with awesome parents who love and support all that we do. You may want to encourage them to buy stock in Apple, just a suggestion! 

Oh and let's not forget about your "love life". You will definitely experience LOTS of heart break. The good news is you have remained friends with most of your ex-boyfriends and have learned and grown so much from each break up. Although, at the time the breakups seemed like the end of the world and you never thought you would meet anybody. I can say without a doubt, there is a prince charming waiting for you. He is kind, loving, fun and thoughtful and wait until you find out how you meet each other. 

One of your biggest accomplishments from when you were 7 until now is that you will not be so concerned what others think of you. Yes, it is an everyday battle but you are learning to love who you are and not let others define who you should be. So Mandy, here we are at age 23, and I can honestly say from then until now there are no regrets. You love God, you are honest, loving, caring, hard working and a very good friend. We have a lot of growing up to still do, but I see a great future for US...be happy and enjoy the journey!

Much Love,
Mandy