Dear 18 year old Mandy....

(I stole this from another blog and thought I'd give it a try)

Dear 18 year old Mandy,

Yeap...you're still going by Mandy even at 32. It's the one thing you've never been able to change - no matter what you do in life, you'll always be know as Mandy. It's you. Amanda is a beautiful name, but Mandy will always fit you perfectly.

You're in college now - going to meet lots of people and make some really great friends. Even a few life long friends. Embrace those friends. Spend more time with them and less time worrying about Mr. Boyfriend at the Moment. Sure you lose touch with a few girls and reconnect via Facebook, but let's just avoid the whole "lose touch" thing ok? Those girls will still be on your side when you're 32 years old. Trust me.

Go ahead and forget "your type" honey. The man you end up with is NOTHING like "the type" you have your mind set on. If you had dropped it sooner, you may have started your fairy tale much earlier! I wish I could save you some heartbreak and some MAJOR mistakes, but I think those are necessary for Al to come into your life. Just know that one day, you won't even remember how bad one particular break up was. You'll even laugh at how silly you probably were. Your "non-type" husband is the best man in the world for you. He's the best decision you probably ever make.

Don't doubt some of the choices you have to make - some are relatively easy....others not so much. Unfortunately, you'll have to leave people out of your life - and that's something that will not get easier for you as you get older. You're still a loyal friend to the end. At 18, you probably think it's a sign of weakness. At 32, you'll see that it's one of the qualities your closest friends love about you. But learn there's a fine line between being a friend and being used - and sometimes you'll have to make a choice about where you fall on that line.

Spend more time with your grandparents. Already at 18, you have such little time left with them.

Write in your journal more - and write about more important things other than Mr. Boyfriend at the Moment and more about things that really matter (even though you think Mr. Boyfriend falls into that category). Give writing more than one try. You might get shot down - but for goodness sakes, get shot down more than once. I don't mind where we end up, we're happy where we are - but don't live with that regret that you didn't give your dream more of a chance.

You're wrong about A LOT of things - especially how life in your 30's is going to be. I'll go ahead and tell you that you do in fact, want kids. You might not think so at 18, but you do. Having those two wild monsters makes you the happiest you'll ever be in your life. And you'll want more but your body won't allow it. That's something you'll struggle with for awhile, but you'll learn to live vicariously through your friends and SILs. Oh, and that perfect man I told you that you marry? Well, yes, he is perfect for you, but honey - nothing is completely perfect. So don't think that your marriage will be the only one in the world that has no "problems" - Mr. Wonderful will do things that annoy you and vice versa. But he's still pretty awesome. It takes you awhile to realize this - go ahead and embrace that fact too. :)

Most of all - continue to have fun and live your life. Looking back - I would say we did a pretty great job. Take more road trips, have more sleepovers, and take more pictures. Oh, and when you meet a certain someone at a bar when you're 21....RUN! :)

Your 32 year old self,

Mandy