Dear Me

           Monday morning I happened to catch a segment of Good Morning America (while applying my make-up) that intrigued me. The segment was about a book entitled "Dear Me" and was described as a collection of letters. The writers of these letters were given the assignment of writing their former 16 year old selves a letter. Kind of like a retrospect. The authors of the letters range from regular Suzzies and Toms to famous people; all writing what I like to call a should of, could of, would of note per say. Honestly, the second I watched this segment my wheels started turning. I could not stop thinking about what I would like 16 year old Ragan to know. It also hit me that I was 16 just 10 years ago and while this doesn't feel like a long time, boy a lot can happen in just 10 years.
            Last night I couldn't even really sleep because I kept on thinking about what I would want to put in a letter so this morning I sat down and wrote it all down.

Dear 16 Year Old Me,

                      (I thought a visual might help. Lookin' good Ray-Ray!)

        It’s going to be alright. Chill out. You’re actually going to be okay 10 years from now. For the most part, your life so far has been going pretty good. There are some things you need to realize though. First and foremost, life is truly a roller coaster ride. There will be those highs where you feel on top of the world (like when you ace a test or have your first kiss) but unfortunately life comes with lows as well (like not being asked to a dance or not getting elected president of your sorority). Although you may feel like it’s the end of the world, you’re lucky. You’ve got an amazing support system of family and friends who are going to help you along the way; family and friends who will be right there with you cheering for you. The friends you have right now will be some of your biggest supporters. They have known you forever and will continue to love you even on your worst days. You will also have new friends which brings me to the second thing you need to realize: college will be some of the best years of your life. You will grow a lot in college. You will step outside your comfort zone and live far away from home; only to experience a brand new world full of new sites, scenes and people. You will be overwhelmed at first but instantly fall in love with what college has to offer. Take this advice though; you will meet a lot of new and interesting people. It will be hard at first to determine who your friends really are but eventually you will figure it out. You will make friends and these friends will “get you.” At times, it will feel as if they have even known you your whole life. They will understand that you have a crazy sense of humor and can sometimes be bossy; these are the people who aren’t embarrassed to be around you when you’re having a good time.  Friends like these are the ones to keep around. There is one last truth I’ll leave you with about college: you’ll meet a lot of bad apples but eventually find one that suites you. This pertains to the relationship department and that’s all I’m willing to divulge.

        Although this may be hard for you to realize now and unfortunately you probably won’t take this advice but the third thing you need to understand is that your parents are human. They actually have been in your shoes before. Shocking. I know. It’s going to pain you when you read this but guess what…they are actually pretty smart and know what they’re talking about. You’ll eventually get to the point where they don’t embarrass you anymore and hold on, wait for it…you’ll want to hang out with them. You’ll grow to respect them for the decisions they made that you may not have liked and you’ll forgive them for the decisions they made you still don’t understand. They’re your parents.

        Last and certainly not least, the fourth and final thing you need to realize is that life is short. Don’t take one day for granted. People will come and go from this world and at times you will not understand why. It’s always those that we least expect to leave us that hurts the most. I wish this could change but it won’t. That is why I’m telling you now…cherish every moment of your life. It’s fun, exciting and never really boring. Trust me.

Love,
26 year old Ragan

On another note, Kyle carved a pumpkin last night. The man loves to carve a pumpkin. I actually heard him say something along the lines of, "I'm awesome with my carving skills" when I complimented him. He was pretty proud of his work and would like everyone to know that he was going for the more "traditional" pumpkin look. He wanted his to be a scary jack-o-lantern.

                                                       Sooo proud.

                                                        Spoooky!!!!