I had lunch with my younger self

I had lunch with my younger self today. She looked nervous. I felt excited to get to know her more.
She was wearing leggings and a kimono.

I was in a maxi dress and a vest. We both complimented each other on our outfits—turns out, our style hasn’t changed much.

Same with food. We both ordered the Cajun chicken sandwich, blackened, of course.

I could tell she was holding back tears. She told me she might lose her job of 10 years because of a merger—the only one she’d ever had since college.

On top of that, she is in the middle of her green card process, the breadwinner of her family with a five-year-old, and a mortgage.

She smirked politely when I told her things would work out, but I could see she didn’t fully believe me. She said she dreams of going out on her own but has no idea where to even start.

I told her that once she decides to go for it, things will work out even better than she imagined.
She told me about a moment with her dad—how he once worried about her career choice but later said, "I’m proud of you for sticking with design. You proved me wrong, and I’m so happy to see you thriving." It meant the world to her.

I told her I was sure that moment would be her anchor to move forward with her dreams.

She tried to pay the bill, even though every financial decision feels terrifying at the moment. I told her it was my treat and that feeling scared was normal. Being an adult is hard, but she would come out of this even stronger.  

​If you could meet your younger self, what would you tell them?