Dear Younger Self

Dear younger self, 

You. Will. Never. Be. An Expert. In. Anything. 

And that's okay. 

Technology will forever evolve. As soon as you think you have a handle, Snapchat will bite you in the ass. The week after you get a new iPhone, a newer iPhone will be released. As soon as you spend every last marketing dollar on the Google exchange, they will announce that more than half of all their ads go totally unimpressioned. Don't think too much about it or you will lose your mind. 

Fashion will come in and out of fashion like last years ombre color palette. Clothes may make the man, but it can make a slave out of an ordinary girl in two New York minutes. Which really is another way of saying that once a year, you should always make an attempt to get rid of the clothes and shoes and bags that you didn't wear or have no plans of wearing again. That's good advice. 

Family will always be as challenging as it's rewarding. One can not happen without the other and the other won't ever get easier. Deal with it. 

Friends are more important than anything, really. Family is fickle and painful and real life but don't make excuses for enduring rather than enjoying. Work is hardly more than a paycheck at it's very core. For both family and work, find something that contributes to your overall happiness and if it doesn't, find your way out of it. Your body -- oh sweet jesus your body-- will betray you. Trust me. These things I know all too well. Life is both sweet and savory, sometimes even a little acidic. Take care of yourself; take your vitamins and get more sleep. When in doubt, try getting more sleep. That's solid advice. 

My best advice is to make peace your present. Make peace with your past, your feelings and those people closest to you that you can't bear to witness the day without. 

Think of life as a marathon and think of a marathon as a journey. Don't focus on the finish until it's the only thing in focus. Your body -- with your expensive shoes, wearable devices and hipster headset -- will get you most of the way there, but at the end of the race, it's your head...it's your heart...that carries you to accomplishment. 

Above all else, remember to breathe through it all.