To 16 Year Old Me

I saw a neat thing on Facebook today. Someone suggested that we share a message that we’d love to be able to send to our 16 year old selves. The catch?: We have to use four words, and ONLY 4 words.

My fellow Monty Python lovers will understand the above reference to the Holy Hand Grenade and the idea of limiting the number of words that can be used. It’s also like the fancy coffee that I like to get when I’m near a Starbucks. A tall order for a little cup……or a medium one: Dirty, hot, spiced Chai with almond milk and just a tiny bit of whipped cream.

So what would my 4 word message to myself be?:

Take a gap year!

I had talked so much and so often about wanting to travel to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, that at the end of my high school career, my parents were going to give me that gift of a gap year, so that I could do that. But when I was actually faced with the fact of that wonderful opportunity, I chickened out.

Instead, I did what was “normal” for kids of my age at the time, and went right into college. I got decent grades for my first two years…with A LOT of help but the social scene for me, was more of a threat than a liberating or growing experience. (All girls’ residential schools can be like that).