“Where do you think you’ll be in five years?” - I actually hate that question. I understand that it’s about hopes and dreams and setting goals. But…I’ve never been right. Not once. Does that mean I didn’t work hard enough or achieve any goals? Not necessarily. But life has a way of surprising us. Seventeen-year-old Anika never could have envisioned what was ahead for her. In the above picture she was on top of the world, almost literally, at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City. Just took her first plane ride, wore a sweatshirt for a college she thought she’d attend (nope), and thought she’d already experienced the hardest thing in her life. In some ways, yes, but not in others. It’s a different kind of hard ahead of her. I’ve seen some people making videos about how they would talk to their teenage self. Answer their questions and try to explain why things didn’t go according to plan. I honestly wouldn’t even know what to say. Seventeen-year-old me would be utterly confused and baffled. It’s hard to explain what choices you’ve made and what had to happen to become who you are at the age of thirty-five. All I could say is none of life will be as you expected and it’s okay. In some ways it’s so much better and what you thought you wanted would have been terrible in the end. It’s all the more reason not to judge others or think you have any idea what’s going on in their life by just a flicker of a glance. All I can say is…you’ll be okay, little Anika. Enjoy New York. You’ll be back many times and even travel the world. I wish I could tell her that anxiety is a thing that explains a lot about you. Also, you’re not shy, just an introvert. Read more. Write more. You’ll figure some of it out along the way. We’re both still works in progress. ❤️ #MeAt17 #soyoung #advicetomyformerself #nyc #2004 #feelsamillionyearsago #selfie #iguess https://www.instagram.com/p/CTQUPWXM9wB/?utm_medium=tumblr
