25 Things I Would Share With My 25 Year Old Self

You know, this feels really good. What is this? This is a place of feeling so good about myself, trusting my gut instincts, saying no without guilt, knowing I am enough and doing what I love. And the crazy part is I feel like this is just the beginning and there is so much more to come. :) 

Part of my journey as an aspiring singer and songwriter has been to feel as great as possible mainly physically so I can have the energy to do many of the things I love. As I continued along my journey to eat better and have energy for days, I gotta tell ya, I was also loving the weight loss. I forget exactly when I made the pact with myself that when I got down to 127 {which is just the weight that I recall feeling my overall best} that I would do a photo shoot in my favorite dress. Oh my gosh, this dress is the only piece of clothing in my closet that I've had for this long. It has been about 24/25 years. And when it comes to clothes, I'm a purger, getting rid of items typically at the start of each season. The dress really is so pretty and has held up so well. Plus I think it's really the memories I have attached to it. Oh, you know me, the hopeful romantic. This dress was gifted to me during my first trip to LA ever and first trip with my then boyfriend. We shopped around a little Korean boutique and it was like, "Aaahhhh, when we saw this dress." He encouraged me to try it on and the rest is history. It end up being the dress I wore for a New Year's Eve party we attended and I loved that in California it was perfectly o.k. to wear something so revealing. My boho soul was very delighted.

As I did the photo shoot, dancing and just enjoying old memories and thinking of new ones to come, I thought about me now and the me then around the time I first wore this dress. Although I was confident enough to wear it, I did have some body issues. Looking back I wonder why and where did those body issues come from. Honestly I didn't take too much time to explore the past, I am just so happy in the now. However I did think of some things that I would have told my 24/25 year old self. The things I would share with me are things that are serving me well today. I'm enjoying my growth and this journey to self. ❤

 25 Things I Would Share With My 25 Year Old Self

1. Enjoy YOUR body - There was a time when I loved my body and then for some reason I started to feel like I didn't have enough curves. I would try to do things like eat cornbread, beans and rice to thicken up in some areas, LOL, yet try to be active enough to stay slim in my ab and arm areas. I think my body issues in my late 20's led to my size 12 and high cholesterol which I no longer have. I think the two craziest things that I've heard about my body were{I still can't believe people have the audacity to say such things} "You don't have a Black girl's body" or "You have a White girl's body." 

2. Misery loves company and that's not the company for you to keep.

3. Don't worry about what others will say.

4. Applaud yourself for walking to the beat of your own drum and for just being you.

5. You are enough.

6. Enjoy every moment {life is short}.

7. Don't force relationships. The true blue relationships will deposit greatness and more into your life, versus draining you dry and always making withdrawals from your heart, mind and even your soul.

9. Do what you love and do lots of it.

10. Trust your own gut and just do it.

11. Tune the outside world out when they get too noisy {or even before the noise starts}

12. You don't need a reason to do the things you love.

13. Live The Life Of YOUR Dreams - While it was a great experience and I gained a lifelong friend, I went to school to become a medical office assistant as recommended by my then boyfriend. Although I was only 19, not that that's an excuse, I've lived the life of others due to similar suggestions or confused tones of "What are you doing?" You know that saying that shares, "You know who you are. You know what you want." We all have a purpose here and while we may steer off course, it seems we are always led back to our true loves, those things that truly brings us joy, those things that sets our souls on fire, our purpose.

14. Don't deny yourself love, joy, happiness, LIFE.

15. Say no without guilt.

16. Whatever you want to do, find a way to make it happen. It can be done.

17. Don't give up.

18. Be flexible and forgiving with yourself.

19. Eat in moderation and enjoy every bite.

20. Love yourself first - It's hard to explain loving someone before loving myself but I did it once upon a time. And I don't mean in the sense in which I love my little brothers for whom I would give my life. But I'm talking about those relationships where I was basically like the Vanessa Bell Calloway's character on Coming To America. I was almost that woman, "whatever you like", LOL :) I think my wanting to be so easy going came from a place of not loving myself first. Again, it's hard to describe, but it is a wonderful, wonderful feeling to say no, recognize those things and people that do not serve me in a positive way and to love myself enough to not fold or give in just to fit in or be easy going. 

21. Don't dull your light so that others will not feel inferior around you. - I've experienced the best moments of my life when I allowed myself to completely shine and I did not force relationships {number 8}. I end up finding my tribe if you will which was/is composed of people who encourage me to shine even more. It's such a totally different feeling, vibe and energy from being around people who shoot you and your ideas down.

22. Be selective about who you allow into your life. - The energy of positive people is so contagious, but so is the energy of negative people {whispering, "don't do it"}.

23. Save your money and be financially smart and fit.

24. Travel more and mainly travel to different places. - Although I travel 2 to 4 times per year and feel so blessed to do so, I've always wanted to explore the world. I think I got bitten by the wanderlust bug at about age 13. Once I started to travel, I would go to the same places year after year and trust me I'm not complaining. My heart longed for Malibu, South Beach and other places I would frequent. But given the places I dreamed of and thinking back, I'm like dang, perhaps I should have gone to this place or that place. As of this post, this November marks 5 years since I've been out of the country. It's time to blow the dust off my passport and get going.

25 Don't be shy :)