MAY 21, 2026

A letter to my younger self

There are so many versions of me that still live in my memory.

Some I want to hug. Some I want to sit beside. Some I wish I could gently whisper to, “Just wait… you have no idea what’s coming.”

Let’s address them, shall we?

⸻

To my younger self who had her lunch thrown on the floor in elementary school,

I wish you knew…

You’d one day stand on the altar surrounded by 11 bridesmaids –

11 women who choose you, love you, and lift you up.

⸻

To my younger self who grew up as an only child and longed for a sibling,  

I wish you knew…  

One day, you’d gain a family big enough to make you one of eight.

⸻

To my younger self who spent the night of her graduation party on the bathroom floor, crying over her first love.

I wish you knew…

You hadn’t even crossed paths with the real love of your life yet.

⸻

To my younger self who lived with crippling anxiety,

I wish you knew…

One day, you wouldn’t just learn how to cope, but you’d build an entire ecosystem helping others do the same.

⸻

To my younger self, sitting in the cancer wing at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, stepping away from her dad’s bedside just to catch her breath,

I wish you knew…

The best days of your life hadn’t even been lived yet.

⸻

To my younger self who woke up bleeding while pregnant, terrified and heartbroken,

I wish you knew…

Your little girl would come back to you someday.

⸻

To my younger self who dreamed that her 2.5-year-old son, who still couldn’t speak, would one day receive Communion while attending Catholic school,

I wish you knew…

That dream would come true.

⸻

Life doesn’t suddenly become perfect. It doesn’t wrap everything up neatly.

But it does give you moments, moments that remind you why you kept going.

⸻

I know not every day will be filled with joy. But when those days come, they are worth soaking in.

⸻

To those navigating rough waters,

To those still swimming toward the dock,

To those going through something heavy right now —

Save this.

Not because everything magically works out overnight, but because life has a way of unfolding in ways you can’t yet see.

One day, you’ll look back at this version of you, the one who kept going, even when it was hard, and you’ll realize…

She was building a life that younger you could only dream of.