I have all these old dance pictures from High School. I don't have a whole lot but enough. What do I do with them all??
A few of them are just fun pictures of guys that I went to the dances with, we were just friends and that was all.
But many of them are with an old boyfriend.
I really don't want them hanging around my house, but they are part of my past and so I feel funny about throwing them away.
High School is such a funny time. While you are in living it, it really doesn't matter what anyone else says it feels like such a big deal. Like your whole life will rest on what you do in High School, on the friends that you make {and the boyfriends you have}
It's not until you are a few years past that when you look back and realize how silly that is. My life definitely did not turn out like I thought it would when I was in high school! I didn't marry the boy, I don't have any girls, I still don't know how to sew, and I'm not living in the first house that we bought.
I love that my life turned out different than what I had planned for. I married a really great man, we have 5 crazy, handsome, wonderful boys {and another question mark on the way} I've lived in 5 states and made more friends than I ever thought I would.
If I could go back in time and tell me something this is what it would be.
Dear High School Leah,
Here you are in High School. It's a hard time and I know you are doing the best that you can. I am from the future looking back and here are some things that I want you to know.
It.will.end.
High School... not so much the drama of it but the drudgery of it. Life is so much better on the other side. Maybe not the growing up part... I mean man, the bills, the jobs, the demands.
But life in general is so much better. The books that you read in high school don't even scratch the surface to what is out there. The way you are able to see life in such a grander way is awesome. No longer is your view just a small blip on the grand scale, but it's like all of a sudden a whole new world is open, and you are able to reach out and touch it all.
Remember to be kind to everyone. I know you are not a bully, but you have had times when you have looked the other way when instead you should have turned and helped someone. Be aware of what is going on and be the one to step in and make a difference.
Forget the boys!! Really.... they don't matter. None of the guys that are your friends now will you ever talk to again. The guys don't matter. What matters is that you stay true to yourself that you remember your divine nature, and that you are a daughter of God. Trying to impress them will only cause you to be sad when they choose to talk to someone else.
The boyfriend.... who I'm sure you think you are going to marry.... I remember... you were trying out your new signature with his name. High school romances are cute... they really are. But there is so much more out there in life than what some boy thinks of you now. I know you like the way his hand feels in yours, but there is a man that is waiting for you and once you meet him you'll wonder why any other person was ever so important to you. If all you think about now is the boyfriend, you may miss who is waiting for your later on. {please don't screw it up!!}
Sometimes it seems hard to stay true to what you believe, but it will be worth it. That guy I was telling you about... he wants to take you to the temple. He wants to be with you for eternity. He is willing to wait for you and keep himself clean for you, do the same for him.... for you.
There are so many more options out there than being a nurse {and since we all know you pass out at the sight of blood that is not a viable option} or a teacher. While those are great professions they are may not be for you.
Learning really starts after high school. There is no one there telling you what to read or what to study. The choice is yours, use it wisely!
Branch out with your music choices!! I promise, you'll be glad that you did. There is so much more out there than the boy bands and pretty girls that sing and dance.
Be willing to do things that scare you. You will work on this for years, but if you can learn that it is ok to fail. It is ok to fall down, you will be better for it. You will learn t pick yourself up and know that life keeps on going. You will also learn that no one sees your failures like you do. they will see a lesson learned, where you see devastation. It really is only a lesson learned. {except for the one time that you calculated the size of the beam for the house wrong.... that was really bad... learn to pay attention too!!!}
And the friends.... oh friends. I know you haven't been popular. {even though you secretly want to be... who doesn't} But high school friends are the ones that will fade with time. Work hard to keep one or two friends real close but let the rest go. There are so many more people for you to meet. Don't worry... social media is big now and you will reconnect with some friends from high school, and now that you are not in that building it's an even playing field and you'll find that real things now matter.
Don't give up on yourself. You are amazing and have many things to offer to others. Your life matters and you are everything to 5 little people who need you.
"Don't waste your time on being jealous... sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind, the race is long and in the end it is only with yourself"
You will make it through this and come out better on the other side.... good luck.
-Your future self....
What would you say to your past self??? And really.... what do you do with your old pictures??
