I’m cool with “C”s. Do good work but don’t put too much pressure yourself.


14



I’ve stopped worrying about you being able to make your way through life. You’re not even 8 years old and I can see you’re going to be just fine. You’re smart, kind, curious, hilarious and so very lovable. I worry about your safety, I stress about your health, but I don’t worry about your character. I’m so proud of you, and I love watching you grow.


14



Read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit together


11



I wish I had heard this in my 20’s. https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMRtFBvGr/


20



You an learn just about anything on Google or YouTube! Spend some time exploring together and caution about how to search safely.


9



Focus on the lesson not the pain.


14, 21



Go on a cruise


12-15



Career is so important to your life satisfaction. Do what makes you happy. If you’re really at a loss for what you want to do for work, then go where you’re needed.


18, 21



Put together a PowerPoint project outlining addiction: substance, gambling, shopping, hoarding, eating, etc. Have them so the research and put it together. Discuss. Reward its completion with a fun activity or trip.


15



So many young adults (and older one too) suffer from a lack of direction, living life without a sense of purpose. ______Here’s my advice: **Do what you love**. ____If you don’t know what that is yet (totally okay) then *go where you’re needed.**___ Make yourself USEFUL doing some sort of work that makes the world (or your family or your community or your country) a better place. Please don’t sit around playing video games or goofing off. That will make you miserable! ___ AND it’s a waste of God’s work (you.) Get busy. _____Stay involved in anything you care about deeply, or that needs you desperately. It will feed your soul and open all kinds of doors.


12, 14, 17



“You belong in every room you enter.” - Shonda Rhymes


6-21



Look into "OK Go" videos.


7-14



No matter how late you are, don’t speed or drive unsafely. It’s not worth someone’s life or limbs.


18-18, 21



Look into summer jobs at national parks.


15, 17



You’re not obsessed with that person you’re just hyper fixating. It’s ADHD.


12, 16, 19, 21



Re-Read "Girls and Sex: Navigating the New Landscape" by Peggy Orenstein.


13



Read Elizabeth Gilbert’s book on creativity. Re-read every few years!


17



I once asked my mom if my grandmother (her mother in law) was rich. Her reply: “No, but she likes to think she is.” I think she meant my grandmother spent money like she had plenty of it when she really did not. Can relate. I hope you do better!


14, 21



Change the furniture around in your dorm, apartment or bedroom every once in a while. It’s an easy way to break up a timeline like for a holiday a season or after a breakup, etc.


18



Dress for the job you want, not the one you have. Unless you're a lifeguard. ;)


16, 21



White privilege doesn’t mean that your life hasn’t been hard, it means that your skin color isn’t one of the things making it harder.


14



Being a professional means taking your work seriously not necessarily taking yourself seriously but take the job seriously, you’re there to do a job your income and the income of those around you depend on it is not a joke. It is not something to be played with you made a commitment, honor it. Show up, prepared and ready to work. Be there on time dressed well alert and positive..


16, 17, 21



Plan a few screen-free weekends every year. (Reticket until 16.)


7



Read “Raising a Screen Smart Kid” by Julianna Miner before you consider giving him a phone.


10



None of us sit high enough to look down on anybody.


11, 14, 17, 21



Watch the political conventions every election year. Listen and decide for yourself.


17, 18, 21



Always have a 5 year plan. Be thinking of goals you want to work towards, however big or small. What inspires you? What drives you? What do you want to accomplish or cure or solve?


15, 17, 21



Sometimes it’s easier to describe what a thing is *not* than to describe what it is.


14, 21



Consent is more than the literal


13, 14, 15, 16, 21



Here’s something I wish wasn’t true but is: Looks matter. This is true for anyone but 100x more so for a woman. Take care of yourself. Stay in good shape, eat well, wear sunscreen, dress well and be well-groomed. It shouldn’t matter but it does. (But try not to judge other people by their appearance- Often times the very best people (friends, spouses, job applicants, etc.) don’t look like movie stars. Far from it!) Yes, looks matter but I hope you value true beauty more.


12, 19