Some things I wish I could go back and tell my younger self:..

1. Pay attention to your great grandma when she tries to explain crocheting to you. Sure, you’re rolling your eyes, but later you’ll really wish you’d listened and learned.
2. You have absolutely nothing to be stressed or worried about. Enjoy yourself. Nothing is that important. Chill out. RELAX. Don't be afraid to ask for help with this sooner rather than later. 
3. Go ahead and wear shorts! Your legs will never look better than they do right now.
4. Being different is more than okay. It’s great! Unique is far better than cookie cutter any day.
5. You’re not in with the popular crowd – so what?! You’ll be far more successful than most of them later in life anyway, you’ll hit your peak later, and you’ll be lucky enough to amass many good friends along the way (real friends).
6. That boy you’re obsessed with in high school? Get over that ridiculous crush. Don’t throw away opportunities that will never come again. He’s gay. He may not know it for sure yet, but he’s gay. You need to admit to yourself that you have seen the signs.
7. Speaking of friends, you’re going to lose several in the 1980s to a terrible disease called AIDS. Appreciate the time you have with them. Spend even more time with them. Even though you think you are, you can help them even more in their struggle to be themselves and be accepted.
8. Don’t distance yourself from your childhood best friend when you gain new friends. You will never have a friend as dear as her, no matter how long you live. You are connected forever. She will need you and you won’t be there during a critical time in her life and, when you realize what you've done, it will be too late to go back and do what you should have.
9. That art thing that you like to do – don’t stop doing it because you’re “too busy” or when “it doesn't fit in with” your life plan. That creativity and the release it provides is what’s going to get you through some tough times later on.
10. Even though you hate it, at least try to understand those Algebra and Geometry classes instead of “just getting by.” It would sure help you later when you’re faced with things like statistics, charts, and graphs.
11. That thing with your mom? You know what I mean. The fact that you don’t see eye-to-eye on anything and you are embarrassed by how blunt and plain-spoken she is. There will come a day when you realize that you wish with all of your heart you could be more like her. And you’ll miss her. A lot.
12. Hey. Pay attention. Your dad is working a lot of overtime and it's so you can go to college. Sure, you’re going to get a job while you're there and pay for your own room and board, but he is going out of his way to help you and he'll later say he regrets not being able to pay for it all. Appreciate the gift. Understand the sacrifice.
13. That English degree is going to do more than just set you off on a teaching experience that you’ll never regret, it will also be a springboard for so much more personally and professionally. Relish being required to do all of that reading – especially that British literature. You’ll never have the time to completely immerse yourself like that again and those classics will be with you forever.
14. Don’t lose track of your college roommate. She will have been one of the most important influences in your life.
15. That college boy that you think you’re going to marry? You’re not. He’s going to break your heart. But it’s for the best. He’s not the one. Learn from the experience and enjoy that time, but don’t put all of your eggs in that basket.

Actually, now that I think about it, never mind. 

My life has been my life because of some of these things. They may have been mistakes or shortsightedness, but who knows? Maybe I wouldn't be who I am without having lived the life I've lived thus far. Understanding the regrets I have may make me a better, stronger person.