By Ann Varner
I watched a video recently where elderly women give advice to 25-year-old women about their regrets in life. 
In the video they speak about the pressures of society today and how women are supposed to be “perfect.” After watching this video I started to reflect on my younger self, even if it was only a few years ago. I realized how much I’ve grown and what I wish I could go back and tell myself at 15-21 years old. This is a list of what I would tell myself and many other ladies out there who likely faced the same issues:
- Don’t act unintelligent and purposely fail math because you want male attention. I promise you, it’s cool to be smart.
- I know that boy broke your heart. I know it hurts. Don’t dwell on it, because you will miss all the good times you have with your friends.
- Cherish your friendships. You never know what will happen in the blink of an eye.
- Your mom is actually right 99% of the time.
- It’s okay to be different from everyone else. You don’t need to be ashamed of your Wal-Mart and thrift shop clothes. In the end, it’s all materialistic. The people who like you for who you are don’t care where you shop.
- It’s okay to want a life that others don’t perceive as normal. I know you don’t care about marriage or babies and that seems weird to everyone else. Don’t worry about it, one day you’ll be content with how you feel.
- It’s okay to want to live alone. It’s okay to enjoy your solitude.
- When someone shows you who they are, believe them.
- I know you’re humiliated by having to drive an ’89 Ford Topaz that everyone makes fun of you for. One day, you’re going to work hard enough to buy a car you like. Their opinions don’t matter.
- The future is now, stop yearning for what is to come and make it happen. No one besides you can create your life.
I know that 20 years from now I’ll look back on this blog and smile as I will have a new list to create. In all, I wish I had trusted myself and what I felt deep down. Most topics on this list are materialistic or about how I was perceived by others. At 25, I’m content with who I am, what I wear, and how I live. It’s a great feeling to have and I wish it for everyone else. I think that the biggest regret I have, which is similar to the ladies’ in the video, is that I had spent too much time caring about what others thought rather than just living my life. Fortunately, I get to do that now.