Dear Young Self

I am a twitter lurker. There I said it. I rarely tweet at people, mostly silly tweets, and I read lots of tweets. I'm more an observer than participant. Anyway, #dearyoungself has been trending for a while now, and it got me thinking... what the hell would I say to myself... let's say 10 years ago.

Dear 17-year-old Nicole (young self),

You have no idea what your life has in store for you. You are about to enter your senior year of high school, and every decision seems "life & death". Relax, and enjoy the rest of high school. You'll grow to miss certain aspects of it.
Don't use the word "regret" unless you truly mean it. You will make MANY mistakes in the next 10 years, but they will bring you to a place of happiness. It will not be an easy road, but holy shit , it will be worth it.
Money doesn't mean shit. Stop obsessing over getting a job that makes the most money. Do what makes you happy. You won't listen to this now, but you will realize it later.
There's a light at the end of every tunnel, but some tunnels are MUCH longer than others. Just be strong, and you'll get there. You always do.
Work hard, but listen to your gut. You need to let loose and have fun. (On second thought, you may have let loose a bit too much from 19-21, so be careful!)
Your actions now have serious consequences. Don't change your course of action, but maybe the method is questionable. Food for thought.
Cherish and nurture your friendships and relationships. People, unfortunately, come and go in your life. Enjoy them while you can, you never know when they might be gone forever.
ASK QUESTIONS. You will lose most of the oldest generation (your grandparents' generation) before you are old enough to ask them everything. This is one thing you will look back on and feel the very truest form regret.
Enjoy your young body. It sounds cliche, but it really never is the same after a baby. And we all know that you are lazy about fitness. You will pay for that too. Tenfold.

Overall, you did pretty well. Don't be so critical of yourself. Oh yeah, and toss that self consciousness out the door. You won't need it where you're going. You will find love, in the most unexpected of places and you will fall madly and hopelessly for him. Your world will turn upside down, and then upside down will become the new norm. Just when everything is in balance, something will turn it around again. Your heart will grow which each new addition (pets and BABY!!!) Your life will be full. You will be happy. Enjoy life, and stop worrying. Everything will be fine!