What 30 something ME would be SCREAMING at my 20 something ME

Just Do It Already.......(and listen to your elders, they know a thing or two)

It just seems like yesterday that I was that 17 yo graduating from high school with the "world ahead of me". How time has FLOWN by and as I look at my life, I'm thankful for my many blessings and wonder how different my life would have been if I had known then what I know now so I'm penning this to my past ME from my present ME.

ACCEPT YOU
Don't let society tell you who and what you should be.
You spent a lot of time unimpressed with being Chinese because this place called America did not welcome you and your family like in the movies. Nope, you endured plenty of racism and stereotyping along with a lot of bullying but never lose sight of the beauty of your culture. How many times can you hear "ching chong" before it gets annoying (the answer is ONCE)? And all those slainted eye jokes, ignore them - those eyes in the future will be what guys say is the most beautiful thing about you. Learn to read and speak (better) Chinese. It will be harder to try when you are 30. Embrace this amazing gift of heritage, learn it, teach it....but mostly love it.

JUST DO IT
Instead of figuring out all the reasons why you don't want to do something, just do it already.
Like school, instead of working your butt off in retail management with all them crazy hours for 10 years, go back to school so you can sit behind a desk and use your BRAIN, have weekends off, and make MORE money. Stop partying so much, take better care of yourself and save some money. These 3 things go hand in hand. There is no reason for partying 5-6 days out of the week nor does it make any sense to stay out until 8 am when you have to be at work at 9 am. NONE. If you stopped partying so much, you could take better care of yourself. True story. And if you stopped partying so much and took better care of yourself, you could save some money. Moving on....

BE OPEN
But SMART.
Learn to not let your past dictate your present or future. Love like it's the 1st time but don't be blinded. Not everyone that you meet has to be a friend for life nor will they be, you will get hurt, you will face betrayal, you will cry, but you will pick yourself up, learn and be a better person for it. Believe me, you will. And whatever you do, DO NOT leave a great guy heartbroken - that you will not be able to repair and you will regret it. Forever. Trust people until they give you a reason not too and not vice versa. And accept people for who they are and what they have experienced. A person who has never had a good friend will not know how to be a good friend. Be patient and love them anyway.

TEACH OTHERS
Every moment by your words and actions.
Don't preach what you won't teach. We can say anything but our actions speak louder than our words. If someone is a friend, be a friend. If someone needs help, be there. If someone asks you for the truth, be their truth. Don't waste so much time being who you think everyone wants you to be, when who you are is already enough. Be true to you and the true you is really great.

LOVE GOD
And Yourself.
And your life will be amazing. Don't just say it, mean it. Let HIM live through you and your actions. And go to church when you can, it will give you a calmness like no other.

GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK
Stop being so hard on yourself.
You aren't perfect, you will make mistakes - plenty of them - learn and grow. You wasted a lot of time blaming yourself for things that have nothing to do with you. LET IT GO. Hold yourself to a higher standard but not so high that it's unreachable.

There are a zillion things that I could share with the past ME but these are the things that have meant so much to me. That really changed me.

What would you share with your past self?