If I could tell my future nugget anything ...

I wrote this post a while back after seeing so many floating around the Internet, and several have made me think "I would want my child to know something like that," but at the end of the day none of them were really what I would have said. So, if I could tell my child anything, I would tell them:

Be confident in who you are, whomever that may be. 

I have struggled for so long trying to figure out who I really am. I was 21 when I wrote this and couldn't tell you who I truly was. Today, at almost 26, I still cannot say I know for a fact who I am. None of that matters, though. What matters is that I'm confident in myself, which has taken even longer for me to accept and really understand. When we live in a world so full of mixed messages about what kind of person is perfect, it's hard. But Christ made us perfectly, and we should be proud of that. No other person's validation should bring us joy, because we were already made perfect in His image and He has predetermined our destiny for greatness. So, whoever you decide you want to be today, whether it's rocking pink hair or wearing a string of pearls, be confident. 

Read that extra chapter in the new book you got before going to bed. 

I've read more books than I can count, some of them two or three different times, and I'm better for that. When a day is long and hard, a book can be your best escape. It's OK to be smart and to enjoy reading, and if you don't, that's OK too. I still struggle here. I think I might always, but I'm learning now to let people be intimidated by my big words and trivial knowledge -- at least I can win a game of trivia. 

A piece of cake won't make or break you. 

With today's society being about the next fad diet and everything else, it's easy to get sucked in to all the hype. I'll admit, I've fallen for them, too. With photoshopped realities, it's easy do to at any point, but that piece of cake for dessert (or breakfast) won't kill you. It's not going to immediately add a jean size or make you not make weight for wrestling. Eating a piece (or two) of cake for several nights, plus weekends and the month after that, might add the weight on you if you aren't taking care of yourself, but either way, eat the cake. Enjoy it. Savor every bite you take. And no matter of 5 pounds is going to make or break my love. 

Not everything you do has to be done seeking my approval. 

You'll understand why this is so important to me with time. Half of my problem with being who I wanted to be was that I wasn't ever trying to be who I wanted to be. I sought approval, constantly. It wasn't from my peers, but it would have been just as bad if I had. Not everything you do is going to make me happy, and it doesn't have to. I am not you, you are not me. We should never try to validate each other as a person because we are not the same. I promise to not do this to you. 

Savor all of the little moments. 

Little moments turn into big moments, that turn into memories, that turn into the foundation of your life. Take the time to notice the little things. Admire the way the sun looks as it pours through a window and hits flakes of dust hanging in the air or the sound of a new book's spine cracking for the first time. What happens if you were to lose your hearing today and your sight tomorrow, can you say that the moments that created your memories of certain things you'll grow to miss will carry you through the rest of your days? It's OK if you can't, you can still change it now.

this was originally posted November 7, 2013 on #forbetterorworse
It was again reposted on #madebyesc, later changed to #madebysec, on 11/10/18