A Letter to Myself at 18

Dear 18 year old Megan,
This is yourself five years in the future. Let's get all of the questions you're dying to ask out of the way before we get to the important stuff. First of all, you were able to get out of Tuscaloosa and avoid falling into the stereotypical life you feared so much. You wouldn't believe it, but you're actually married only five years from now. I know you thought you'd never find someone you could stick around with for a year, much less a lifetime, but you did it. You didn't envision getting married this early in that perfect plan you have in your mind, but you'll find that things don't always go as planned and you can't fight something that's right because it's not what you pictured. The impatient 18 year old you are is dying for me to tell you who you marry so you don't waste your time with the other guys, but I'm afraid if you did one thing a little differently you may not find him and that's not something I can gamble with.

                                    

I'm writing to you now because I'm envious of the person you are at 18. I know this sounds a little backwards because you're jealous of my freedom and having the love of my (or is it the love of our life?). But I'm jealous of the determination you have at this point in your life. You're determined to change the world, even if you aren't sure how just yet. A guy isn't in the forefront of your mind yet and you want to go to college anywhere but Alabama like the rest of your graduating class. I admire your desire to be different and I'll shock you again by saying that, so far, that you're at the most enlightened, most driven, most educated point in your life.

While you can name 10+ Shakespeare plays and what they mean, I can name three. You see college as this magical land of freedom where you'll be tested academically. That's what all of your teachers said when learning came easy for you... In high school you'll have to apply yourself, next year you won't get away with slacking, I'm preparing you for college, where teachers won't go easy on you. But looking back on my college experience, while it was challenging at times, overall it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Part of that I did to myself. At 18, you strived to be the best in your regular classes, near the top of your advanced classes, and to make an A in your impossible AP classes. But in college, guys finally took notice of you and you took notice of the fun and alcohol that your peers had experienced for years. This was inevitable and even you expected to drink in college, but what I'm warning you about is to work hard in your college years the way you did in high school. I know you think you're doing well because you didn't lose your scholarship or fail classes like people around you did, but you can push yourself farther than just succeeding without sacrificing the fun you had.

Your three best friends and you swore you wouldn't go to Alabama, but you'll laugh when you found out that you all ended up there. You were right to swear to be different, but you were going about it all wrong. Where you went to school didn't change any of that. You ended up at Alabama because it was the best place for your degree. You chose the practical major of Advertising because it combined your creativeness with business. I would tell you to listen to your mom and make that your major immediately, but where's the fun in that? You, Alana, Rebecca, and Lauren are still so different from you peers because you thought outside the bubble and remained true to yourselves when it was so easy to conform.

Now for the juicy stuff. You've got a lot going on in that brain up there. I want to tell you what will actually be relevant and what parts you can toss to the curbside.

• I know you're awful at math and it's been the thorn in your side all through school. Good news is: in the real world, it doesn't matter anymore. Remember in elementary school when our teacher said that we had to learn to do math in our head because we wouldn't always have a calculator with us? Well, she was wrong. Our precious iPhone is always handy. Plus, your profession has no need for it and you have a husband to calculate all the pesky percentages off shopping sales.
• The most important thing you should take away from your classes, apart from the relevant advertising material, is grammar. You type every single day and it pays to have grammar rules so ingrained in you that they come natural. Not only does it save you time in looking up the rules, in the real world if you make a grammar mistake, you look like an idiot and your boss calls you out on it. It's a pain in the ass, I know, but suck it up and drink in all of those rules. Don't get mad at your advertising teacher that counts off for every mistake you made either. She, Mr. Fleming and all the countless other English teachers that drilled in the grammar rules year after year affect how you type every day. I'd hate to see where you'd be without them. 
• All of those fancy novels you read in English and to prepare for the AP exam... don't throw them to the wayside when you get mad that they weren't on the exam. Not only do they make you feel smart and look great on a bookshelf, they also make you a culturally diverse person and will come up in conversation.

The biggest takeaway of this letter, isn't to do anything differently. It should be to keep up the good work. Right now you're working so hard to pass your AP exams and you're on a path to success and I want you to continue on that path of being fulfilled with your life. It doesn't really matter what you're doing, as long as what you're doing fulfills you and makes you complete. Trying harder in college won't get you a better job after college, but it will make you feel smart the way you do now, in between the parties and fun times with your friends. 

You may be married and on your own, but you don't have it all together yet. And that's okay. What isn't okay is going through life and waiting for something to happen to you. After you leave college, there's no test to study for and no semesters to mark the passing of time. It's up to you to motivate yourself; know what you want and go after it. So maintain that same strong motivation you've got going now and you'll be happy with the person you've become.