To my 25 year-old self

You have reached the age of having a complete mind. Congratulations! This greeting is in the hopes of you being able to actually discern things properly.

There are a lot of things you still need to learn. But now that your mind is theoretically full, it might get harder. But who is to say that you can't believe you can still learn.

Among these things is honesty. You have been doing good with being honesty with others and with God (hopefully). But honesty with yourself is an entirely different story. You are now 25 years old. I am hoping you now realize the importance and significance of this virtue. If you still think that there are available excuses for being dishonest especially with yourself, then you are fooling no one and wasting no one's time but your own. You are making a fool out of yourself and no one else.

Another value you need to learn is reaponsibility. "Being adult" has recently taught you this; but I wonder some5imes if you can make it stick. You are 25 years old now. You should know the difference between being responsible and being reprehensible. An unpleasant attitude is also never an excuse to pursue "responsibility". That is just a selfish thing to do and you know it. Remember always what responsibility means and remember it for good.

You also seems to have let youself go awry lately. Never lose control of what you have been given the opportunity to control. Relevant to this, always keep in mind faith and focus. A so-called mid-life crisis is not something you should let in the way of your goals.

And speaking of goals. Setting goals requires self-honesty. If you are questioning your goals, make sure you are questioning them for the right reason and not because of self-doubt.

You know yourself best: what you need, what you want, what you can have, and what you can do. You know yourself best. So why doubt you? If you doubt because of what they say about you or what they think they know about you, remember this: what they think of you does not matter the most. What you think of yourself is what matters most.

In case of doubt, remember this quote: "I did it because I wanted to. I wanted to because they said I could not." It seems a little extrinsic and negatively motivated, yes. But as I said, remember this only in the most dire of need.

"Being adult" does not only mean being responsible. It also means being humble. In the past few years I think I have learned this. But recently, attempts to further my confidence blurred this virtue a little. So today, my hope is I can relearn the balance between being confident and being humble at the same time.

As I pour these thoughts out in this letter, my mind is beginning to calm down. You will notice that only a few moments earlier I wrote a letter to our 20 year-old self. I think it is because what I chose to shed and leave behind was trying to haunt me in my moment of doubt. I was so vulnerable just a few minutes ago that anxiety came back. Thankfully it is now beginning to crawl away again.

Lastly, "being adult" means knowing how to find your happiness in your life. So my hope for you is that you find happiness in everyday no matter what. Do not ever let this thing called quarterlife crisis get the better of you. Do not ever let any challenge take you down.

Whenever you feel defeated, always view things as a challenge. You like challenges. So you like dealing with them. ;) As you once said, it is just mind over matter.


Truly yours,
-Dani

Now go beat that bar exam!