I recently heard a song from Brad Paisley I haven't listened to in quite some time and I couldn't help but smile as the lyrics filled my car. One of my personal faves, Brad is singing to himself at 17 and basically telling his old self not to be too upset by things at that time because in many instances all that happened then made him get to the place he is at now. Confused? Song Whisperer I am not so I hope we are on the same page still. Any how, I got to thinking about my 17 year old self and what I may say to her. So I've gathered a few snapshots that I had buried away in keepsake boxes aka old Tupperware and decided to give the 17 year old Megan a visit...
Well to start, don't drink beer out of the bottle. Get a glass like your old pal. Keep it classy kid. Secondly, it's a shame you can't see the shirt worn closely, so let me paint a picture. As I do so, I'd like to let you know, 17 year old Megan, you will in fact resolve to never wearing AE graphic tees with sexual innuendos much longer beyond this, which to be honest is probably one of your better choices you could make. I believe this one said "Get Lei'd Island Style" and yes it had the Hawaiian lei to boot. I also recall my mother's disapproval when I came home after spending my hard earned $6.50 an hour paycheck on this gem. This tee disappeared one of the many times my poor mom swept thru my messy personal space, aka my room, to wash all the clothes thrown upon my floor. Hot mess doesn't even begin to describe you 17 year old Meggie.
There is no way, 17 year old Meg, that you are getting thru this memory lane session without a talk about the bleach attack you put yourself through. Just no, never again. Thankfully this is a lesson you learned early on. Only warm highlights and face framing for you sweet gal.
Oh Meggie. A close up of this shot shows off the layering of gold chains you liked to wear. I will say your name plate wasn't half bad and I do wish you wouldn't have broken this in college. There really isn't much more I can think of at this point. You always did have your ID with you like a good girl. Then again, you couldn't leave campus without it so that most likely was a motivator.
Ahh, yes. 17 year old Megan and her dear pal decided to dress up in absurd clothing combos and hit the town, in broad daylight, to take random photos posing with street lights, pillar signs, and lord knows what else. You'll be happy to know you do keep your happy spirit for good, silly laughs over the years. This is probably one of your strongest qualities and will carry you through so much.
Cute skirt. Good friend. Can't really hate on you here too much, 17 year old M. The leg pop is cute as is your Charlotte Rouse skirt, what can I say? You will grow with this girl and stand by each other through many, many moments and milestones. Be thankful, Meggie. I'm sure you will be.
Ok, better hair! Buttt, you will spend many years partaking in social atmospheres and will do what you can to tame the ol'irish girl you are with the skin tone to prove it. You will suffer through...pinker complexions...yea, that's a nice way to put it. The good part is you had fun and made great memories that you refer to time over time.
Okay, girlfran. What's.with.the.hat. Fun night but imagine how much more fun it could have been minus the camouflage orange hat. If you haven't lost or burned this monstrosity hop to it. Cute synchronized sideways wearing though. Kudos for that.
So there we have a few glimpses back in time. It's crazy to think back to all the friends you made, the fun times had, the not so fun times, the times you wished to be older and swore that would make everything better. The one thing I can promise is you will become, dare I say it, wiser, and will truly learn to distinguish life altering from "that's life" moments. You will have more good company than bad on this journey and you'll smile more than you'll cry.
17 year old Meggie, you will go on to do so much:
You will move on your own, driving on the highway by yourself for the first time, car loaded to the brim, mom behind you, literally and figuratively, screaming as semi trucks honk on by;
You will graduate college once, have a ton of fun and vow to be never go back again. And then you'll decide you're a gluten for punishment aka you'll embrace being the smart nerd you always were deep down and go a few extra miles;
You will travel and see places you always hoped to go with good company and make tons of memories, eat delicious food, see beautiful sights, and be thankful for the chances to do all of it;
You will meet one of the best people to ever, ever enter your life and this person will show you unconditional love every single day and surprise the hell out of you by vowing to spend the rest of his life with you. By the way, treat this person double as good as he treats you, grown up Megan. Even then it won't be a match for how good he is to you. But you'll try;
You will stay loyal to yourself, to those you love, you will speak up when you need to, and stand back too. You become aware it's okay to be a strong, silent type and not a screaming banshie like your dramatic 17 year old self, thank god.
Most importantly, you'll recall every single experience every day a little more because you know it got you where you wanted to be. How exciting to see the rest of this journey!
...Oh and PS 17 year old Meggie, don't worry, 18 year old you turned out just fine too. After all, you were armed for senior year with your makeup bag, colored pencils-for decorating your planner BTW, not anything to do with school work, sparkly belt AND hair ribbon, might I add. You meant business walking those halls. Don't worry girl, you'll never lose the your love of sparkle. Go get 'em tiger. As soon as mom lets you out the door and stops taking your "first day of school" picture. Ugh, so embarrassing mommmmm.
http://youtu.be/RQ3bn7V0zdU
Well to start, don't drink beer out of the bottle. Get a glass like your old pal. Keep it classy kid. Secondly, it's a shame you can't see the shirt worn closely, so let me paint a picture. As I do so, I'd like to let you know, 17 year old Megan, you will in fact resolve to never wearing AE graphic tees with sexual innuendos much longer beyond this, which to be honest is probably one of your better choices you could make. I believe this one said "Get Lei'd Island Style" and yes it had the Hawaiian lei to boot. I also recall my mother's disapproval when I came home after spending my hard earned $6.50 an hour paycheck on this gem. This tee disappeared one of the many times my poor mom swept thru my messy personal space, aka my room, to wash all the clothes thrown upon my floor. Hot mess doesn't even begin to describe you 17 year old Meggie.
There is no way, 17 year old Meg, that you are getting thru this memory lane session without a talk about the bleach attack you put yourself through. Just no, never again. Thankfully this is a lesson you learned early on. Only warm highlights and face framing for you sweet gal.
Oh Meggie. A close up of this shot shows off the layering of gold chains you liked to wear. I will say your name plate wasn't half bad and I do wish you wouldn't have broken this in college. There really isn't much more I can think of at this point. You always did have your ID with you like a good girl. Then again, you couldn't leave campus without it so that most likely was a motivator.
Ahh, yes. 17 year old Megan and her dear pal decided to dress up in absurd clothing combos and hit the town, in broad daylight, to take random photos posing with street lights, pillar signs, and lord knows what else. You'll be happy to know you do keep your happy spirit for good, silly laughs over the years. This is probably one of your strongest qualities and will carry you through so much.
Cute skirt. Good friend. Can't really hate on you here too much, 17 year old M. The leg pop is cute as is your Charlotte Rouse skirt, what can I say? You will grow with this girl and stand by each other through many, many moments and milestones. Be thankful, Meggie. I'm sure you will be.
Ok, better hair! Buttt, you will spend many years partaking in social atmospheres and will do what you can to tame the ol'irish girl you are with the skin tone to prove it. You will suffer through...pinker complexions...yea, that's a nice way to put it. The good part is you had fun and made great memories that you refer to time over time.
Okay, girlfran. What's.with.the.hat. Fun night but imagine how much more fun it could have been minus the camouflage orange hat. If you haven't lost or burned this monstrosity hop to it. Cute synchronized sideways wearing though. Kudos for that.
So there we have a few glimpses back in time. It's crazy to think back to all the friends you made, the fun times had, the not so fun times, the times you wished to be older and swore that would make everything better. The one thing I can promise is you will become, dare I say it, wiser, and will truly learn to distinguish life altering from "that's life" moments. You will have more good company than bad on this journey and you'll smile more than you'll cry.
17 year old Meggie, you will go on to do so much:
You will move on your own, driving on the highway by yourself for the first time, car loaded to the brim, mom behind you, literally and figuratively, screaming as semi trucks honk on by;
You will graduate college once, have a ton of fun and vow to be never go back again. And then you'll decide you're a gluten for punishment aka you'll embrace being the smart nerd you always were deep down and go a few extra miles;
You will travel and see places you always hoped to go with good company and make tons of memories, eat delicious food, see beautiful sights, and be thankful for the chances to do all of it;
You will meet one of the best people to ever, ever enter your life and this person will show you unconditional love every single day and surprise the hell out of you by vowing to spend the rest of his life with you. By the way, treat this person double as good as he treats you, grown up Megan. Even then it won't be a match for how good he is to you. But you'll try;
You will stay loyal to yourself, to those you love, you will speak up when you need to, and stand back too. You become aware it's okay to be a strong, silent type and not a screaming banshie like your dramatic 17 year old self, thank god.
Most importantly, you'll recall every single experience every day a little more because you know it got you where you wanted to be. How exciting to see the rest of this journey!
...Oh and PS 17 year old Meggie, don't worry, 18 year old you turned out just fine too. After all, you were armed for senior year with your makeup bag, colored pencils-for decorating your planner BTW, not anything to do with school work, sparkly belt AND hair ribbon, might I add. You meant business walking those halls. Don't worry girl, you'll never lose the your love of sparkle. Go get 'em tiger. As soon as mom lets you out the door and stops taking your "first day of school" picture. Ugh, so embarrassing mommmmm.
http://youtu.be/RQ3bn7V0zdU
I think this is my favorite article. (Not just because I am in a picture!)I happen to love you and LOVED you at 17! Cheers to 17 year old Meggie! There were some really good times.
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