Notes to my younger self

Sometimes I wish that you could see into your adult life, so that you could makes notes to yourself about what to do and what not to do. This is certainly true of me. There are things that I wish that I had done differently as a young adult for sure.

Notes I would make to my younger adult self:

1. Save as much money as you can. Most of what you buy you don't even really need. (especially stuff you buy your young children...they grow up so fast. They are happy with a few boxes to play with)
2. Enjoy the few responsibilities that you have. As you get older, the responsibilities are ridiculous. Do I have this insurance? Do I have enough insurance? How can we save for retirement? Have I trained my children to live in this world?  etc...
3. Exercise every single day (make it a habit). I wish I had done this. I let things get in the way. It is much harder to do so now.
4. Eat healthy every single day. I let my emotions control my eating. Now, it is so hard to get my metabolism into check. I eat good, but it just doesn't seem to matter.
5. Enjoy that you don't have to watch how much you eat. This goes back to the previous one. It was nice when I could eat what I wanted for the most part. Now, strawberries make me gain weight.
6. Saying no when you don't want to do something is okay to do. I was always afraid that I would hurt someone's feelings or make them mad at me. Now, I only do those things that I really want to do. (except for Jury duty, of course)
7. Your parents know what they are talking about. This one is so funny to me. I was always rolling my eyes...inside my head of course. I actually did not physically roll my eyes at my parents, but there were many times where I was like, "You do not know what you are talking about. That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Why can't I do that?" Well, now I know that they were right. Now I am saying the same things to my teenage children, that will soon be young adults.
8. Choices you make now will for sure affect your life later. This is the one I would most say to my younger self. It pretty much takes care of all of these others, and then some. I would tell myself to make good choices in eating, exercising, money, children, vacations, and more. I never made really stupid choices, but there are bad choices that have affected me now.
9. Get more sleep. When I was a young adult, I would sleep for 4-5 hours a night. I now realize how bad that is to do. I would definitely get more sleep.
10. Be more confident in yourself. I would read more books and work more on this area. I believe it might help me today be more confident in myself.
11. Be yourself...everyone else is already taken. This is one that I constantly tell my boys now. If they don't like who you really are, then find someone else. I was always trying to please others in my younger years--I am not sure that I was truly myself.
12. You don't NEED much stuff. We think that we need everything that our parents had when they are 25 years ahead of us. You can have a bed, a couch, a TV, and some kitchen stuff, and that would be enough.
13. Enjoy each and every moment. They all go by so quickly. It is the simple things that are the most special.
14. Do your best and forget the rest. I was always hard on myself when it came to school or work. I wish now that I had enjoyed the process more and just worked more on doing my best. If a B was my best, that is okay.
15. Appreciate people more. When you are young, you think you have the rest of a lifetime ahead of you. I wish I had appreciated my grandparents and family more when I was younger. You never know how long you have with them.
16. Go on real vacations now while you can...travel the world. It is so much harder now to go on big vacations. We have so many more responsibilities now--like dogs, house, work, teenagers (working), and more. I really wish Michael and I had traveled the world when we were first married. We did not have much money, but it would have just been easier. (plus it is only two people to pay for)
17. Men and women are so different...which means marriage is not easy. Realizing your differences is very important. 
18. "Don't sweat the small stuff." This one is so very important. Michael and I did not learn this until a few years into our marriage. Now, we just let things go. It is stuff that doesn't matter anyway. By the way, the book "Don't sweat the small stuff" is one of my favorite books.
19. Figure out what makes you happy and don't let anyone else get in the way. Don't allow them to make you feel "not good enough." "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~Eleanor Roosevelt
20. Have fun and "Don't worry, be happy." It is so easy to be so worried about the future. God promises to take care of us, so just let Him do what He promised us. Of course, that does not mean to just frivolously live our lives, but don't get so worked up about everything.