Dear Future Self...

When I think about the kind of life I want to or have lived so far, I sometimes wonder why I took this chance or why I made certain choices that seemed difficult or overwhelming at the time. However, when I see how it makes me feel now, I understand why- it's because of that sense of accomplishment. 

Going to that vocational school and getting through its challenges was definitely hard on me; I'm not going to lie about that. However, I'm still able to see all the things I achieved there as I continued to push through and work hard. I won the Student of the Month award, I've been given lots of praise for my work ethic as well as my leadership skills. I may not have done everything perfectly, but I did the best that I could and knowing that makes me feel good.

Now here comes the letter that I feel needs to be heard to me now and in the future:

You know that you've been through a lot, but it's all leading you up to where you are now. You are strong enough, capable enough and motivated enough to take on whatever challenge you want to go after next. There's no limit to your success, but try your best to remember that some days may be harder than others.

If you think that something is worth pursuing, then go after it. if you feel unsure in any way, then just do it regardless; you might just end up feeling better in the end. Sometimes it's okay to go after the unknown even if it scares you. You know fully well anyways that the more experience you get, the better you'll be able to handle whatever comes next in life.

It's usually said that the most worthwhile things in life take the most time, patience and effort, but even then, just know that you're allowed to be human. You're allowed to mess things up every once in a while; no one is perfect. Just keep on doing the best you can to stay positive and motivated; that's probably what's going to get you the furthest in life.

Song Spotlight: "Dear Daughter" and "One More Light"

Lzzy's voice in Dear Daughter as always is naturally powerful and amazing, but the message of this song along with the music video is just powerful in a way that literally touched me deep in my heart, knowing that I would say these same words to anyone else that I truly care about.

As humanity progresses and continues to grow, it can sometimes become harder for those in my generation or even younger generations to feel like we matter or to feel like we are worth something to someone. You just never know what someone is struggling with these days, so that's why I feel like it's important for ALL of us to treat each other with kindness, compassion and respect.

I honestly feel like society shouldn't overlook the struggles that women continue to face, but at the same time, I also feel like us women in general need to be more fair towards everyone else. At times, we may be prone to selfish thoughts regardless of gender, but that shouldn't stop us from trying to be better than who we were before.

So to wrap up this post, I'm just going to say that Chester's influence and Lzzy's message to us men AND women is something worth admiring and looking up to. And understandably so, sometimes we just need that encouragement or support in knowing that we're being heard, understood and cared for.

MUSIC VIDEO LINKS:

Halestorm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHPVb-qMzsY

Linkin Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm8LGxTLtQk