After you graduate college, you are going to go out into the world- innocent, naive, and hopeful. You are going to experience love, heartbreak, love, heartbreak, until your heart cracks open and you learn everything love isn’t, so you can realize what true, unconditional love actually is. You will learn to quiet the madness in your head so that you can truly listen to your heart. You are going to experience sickness, health, sickness, health, until you become chronically ill and you truly learn to appreciate health. You are going to take everything for granted until you are too sick to do any of it, so that you learn to find joy and happiness in the smallest of things. You are going to do, do, do, until you are forced to just be and learn that life requires balance. You are going to dwell on the past and worry about the future until you learn to live in the present. You are going to experience sadness, grief, and loneliness so you can truly appreciate happiness, joy, and connection. You are going to become frustrated when you feel confused, until you realize that confusion often leads to the most clarity. You are going to take everything personally until you learn that none of it has anything to do with you. You are going to try to be perfect until you learn that perfectionism doesn’t exist. You are going to experience judgement, until you realize that others are judging you because of their own pain. You are going to experience bullying until you realize that others can’t bully you if you are confident, set boundaries, and are strong in your sense of self. You are going to realize that you feel “different” because you are unique, and that’s something to be celebrated rather than looked down upon. You are going to realize that authenticity is more important than popularity. You will realize that you can only love and accept others at the level you love and accept yourself. You will realize that by being vulnerable, you give others permission to do the same. You are going to lose everything until you realize that it’s OK to accept help from others. You are going to learn that sensitivity isn’t a curse- it’s a superpower. You will see you chose a harder path so you could make a bigger difference. You are going to get mad at yourself for making mistakes, until you realize that each mistake provides a burst of wisdom to push you in the right direction. You will see that your hardships are your greatest teachers. You are going to feel broken, shattered into pieces, until you remember that you are actually whole. You are going to learn that every situation in your life that makes you feel like a victim is there to empower you. You will realize that sharing your story will inspire others. You are going to feel as if you are on the verge of a breakdown until you realize that it’s OK, and actually healthy, to feel your feelings. You are going to experience pain until you learn to turn the pain into power. You are going to learn that you need to balance your giving with receiving. And that you can’t give to others if you don’t give to yourself first. You will learn that the older you get, the more important it is to embrace your inner child. You will keep seeking guidance outside of yourself, until you realize that the answers were within all along. You are going to feel fear until you realize that you are safe in your body, and that your fears are just illusions. You are going to feel stuck until you realize that it’s just your limited beliefs holding you back.

You are going to experience everything going wrong until you change your perspective and realize it’s actually everything going right. You are going to become stronger, wiser, more confident, more patient, and more compassionate. You are going to learn that you are powerful, limitless, and capable.  That everything is a lesson to be learned- and that you are passing the test of life with flying colors.

Love,
Lauren