Writing Letters to an 18-Year-Old Girl.

i’m walking through this 90 day writing program with @letsfindyourvoice and on day 9 this was the prompt. and as i was writing i started crying. 

i was trying to figure out what to write on the blog this week but i felt like i needed to share this and your enneagram 8 pal would rather not be vulnerable but here’s what i wrote for question 1: imagine you’re writing a letter to your 18-year-old self. What advice would you give yourself about your future career path?

Not a single thing is going to happen like you think it will play out. You think you’ll be a doctor and you won’t be. You think you’ll be a lawyer and you won’t be. (Well, that could potentially still be up for debate.) You don’t even know the gifts you have. You don’t know how good of a writer you are. You have no clue how comfortable you make people feel and how people feel welcome in your presence. And at the ripe age of 23 you still don’t know your future career path! 

We have no idea what the world will throw us. We especially don’t plan for things such as a worldwide pandemic and a recession all while you’re trying to graduate from grad school. Life is wild and crazy and you can’t plan too far ahead or else you’ll count out what God has in store for your life. I have no idea what I’m going to be doing next month and if I had to guess I’d drive myself crazy. Forget about what you’re not good at and focus on what you really excel in. 

I forgot to mention, little did you know how easily you could persuade teachers to move tests and projects. Maybe you should be a lawyer. Or maybe you’ll just find a different battlefield to fight for justice in. Just let life happen and get to know Jesus better and He will bless you in ways you couldn’t dream up. 

I’m so proud of you and the person you’ll become over the next 5 years and all the ways you fight for your dreams. You make everything you want your reality. Honestly, it’s amazing to think about. You are relentless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire. I’m always so hard on myself and forget to recognize the greatness inside of me. You bulldoze your way through any preconceived notions about what you’re capable of and I know you’ll do it time and time again. 

Don’t take yourself so seriously. Enjoy life. We can spend the rest of our days trying to plan what our careers will be and then curveballs are thrown and we’ll never be the same. Will I sit in the murkiness of my own original plan or will I dive into the deep end of God’s richest journey? Will I be the driver or the passenger of this car? 

If I drive I’ll probably wreck this car over and over again, but with God at the wheel I can find comfort in that I’m safe. And being safe doesn’t always necessarily mean that I’m comfortable. Growth begins the minute we step off the ledge, so I’m free-falling knowing my Heavenly Father will catch me when we arrive at our next destination.

xo,

msv