30 days of questions (#4)

Yes, if you're keeping track, I've skipped #3.  I decided that it wasn't something I wanted to share the answer to with a larger audience.

So, moving on to Q4: List 10 things you would tell your 16 year-old self, if you could.

1. He's not worth it. None of them. The "first", the "crush", the secretly closeted, the first marriage.  A man will never, and should never, define you.
2. This, too, shall pass.  Friendships that are meant to last, will.
3. You may never know what you want to be when you grow up.  It's okay. 
4. You're not the only one who lives in a family of dysFUNction.  Really.
5. You may not know it now, but your passion to be a leader is already in full bloom.  Nurture it and never second-guess those who challenge you.  It will make you stronger.
6. Trust God.  Always.
7. You will make a difference in this world...  believe in yourself.
8. Carpe Diem!  Yes, life may get challenging at times, but this mantra will stick with you forever.
9. Your sweet tooth may someday be your demise to healthy habits.  Stop eating useless junk and candy, now!
10. You only get one life, but many chances...  never regret.

Gosh, there's a few nevers, evers and forevers in those answers, isn't there?!  Yikes.  I guess it's easy to look back now and tell myself what I probably already knew.  Hindsight and all that, right?

And as my boys approach young-adulthood, I find myself wondering if they will listen to their inner calling?  do they have the same fears developing that I did back then?  will they follow their dreams? 

As a mother of three boys, I can only hope that I have been able to teach them that morals and values are something you develop early, and carry with you from early on into adulthood...  trust your gut..

but above all,
believe in yourself.