Country music superstar and Wheeling, WV native Brad Paisley has a song that is one of my absolute favorites. It's called Letter to Me, and it's the words he wishes he could speak to his seventeen-year-old self. For those of you not familiar with the song, here are the lyrics, or you can click here for the video.
If I could write a letter to me and send it back in time to myself at seventeen,
First I'd prove it's me by saying, look under your bed, there's a Skoal can and a Playboy no one else would know you hid.
And then I'd say, I know it's tough when you break up after seven months.
And yeah I know you really liked her and it just don't seem fair, but all I can say is pain like that is fast, and it's rare.
And oh, you got so much going for you, going right. But I know at seventeen it's hard to see past Friday night. But you'll make it through this and you'll see, you're still around to write this letter to me.
At the stop sign at Tomlinson and Eighth, always stop completely, don't just tap your brakes.
And when you get a date with Bridget, make sure the tank is full...on second thought, forget it, that one turns out kinda cool.
Each and every time you have a fight, just assume you're wrong and dad is right.
And you should really thank Miss Brinkman, she spent so much extra time...it's like she sees the diamond underneath and she's polishing you 'til you shine.
And oh, you got so much going for you, going right. But I know at seventeen it's hard to see past Friday night. Tonight's the bonfire rally, but you're staying home instead, because if you fail Algebra, mom and dad will kill you dead. But you'll make it through this and you'll see, you're still around to write this letter to me.
You've got so much up ahead, you'll make new friends...you should see your kids and wife. And I'd end by saying have no fear, these are nowhere near the best years of your life.
I guess I'll see you in the mirror when you're a grown man. PS, go hug Aunt Rita every chance you can!
And oh, you got so much going for you, going right. But I know at seventeen it's hard to see past Friday night. I wish you'd study Spanish. I wish you'd take a typing class. I wish you wouldn't worry, and let it be. I'd say have a little faith and you'll see. If I could write a letter to me, to me.
What would you go back and say to yourself at seventeen? What do you think, twenty years from now, you'd go back and say to yourself today?
No, I wouldn't have said to go looking for a Skoal can or a Playboy...I didn't have any of that stuff...but I can think of a few things I'd probably say to myself at seventeen (and maybe to myself today as well).
1) The best, and worst, are yet to come. I know that at every time in our life, the highs and lows seem like the best and worst of times. When my five-year-old son messes up on a video game, it's the end of the world. My daughter once was so upset at messing up during soccer practice that she tearfully exclaimed "I can't do ANYTHING right!" In high school, breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend just seemed like the end of the world.
I had no concept of what joys and trials awaited me in life - the experience of being a father changed my life so completely, I can't even remember what life was like before them. And things like losing an unborn child, one I never even met, have stretched my faith and challenged me like never before. Something tells me I'll look back on the trials I'm experiencing right now, and realize I've grown since then and my capacity to experience joy and sorrow will have grown with me.
2) Don't worry so much about pleasing other people. One of my biggest flaws, to this day, is that I'm a people-pleaser. I would rather tell you what you want to hear for the sake of getting along than risk conflict by speaking the truth. It's something I'm working on. At seventeen, like most people my age, I was consumed with being liked, especially by girls. So consumed, in fact, that I rarely thought about what the RIGHT thing to do was, or what God wanted me to do. Those were secondary concerns to what would make me liked, what would impress my peers, or what would get their attention. It's good advice even today. Worry about pleasing God, and worry about doing what is right. If that doesn't please certain people, well you probably don't want those folks' approval anyway.
3) Treasure relationships. Brad Paisley alluded to this in his song when he said "P.S. go hug Aunt Rita every chance you can." I've been lucky so far in life. I haven't experienced death in a way that many have. There have been those I've lost along the way though. I think of students I've had in youth ministry over the years that are no longer with us. Lisa Kitchene, Ryan Coates, Renee Karwacki. I miss my aunt Georgetta and aunt Opal so much sometimes. My friend Danielle Dickson, who I was "too busy" to talk to one night, and a few hours later she was gone. I'd go back and tell my seventeen-year-old self, "Spend every moment you can with those folks. You haven't even met some of them yet, but just treasure the time you have with them." Life really is short, folks. If you haven't figured that out yet, you will soon enough.
4) Listen to advice. Surround yourself with people who know more than you do, and LISTEN TO THEM! Your parents may drive you crazy, but they know more than you do! So do your teachers. Set your pride and ego aside and let people teach you something and make you a better person because of it. That's advice for everyone, at every age. You don't know everything. Be ok with that, and learn.
5) What you do now, affects your life later. Especially as a teenager, we think that life's choices have no lasting consequences. I was two when I learned to read. Yeah, two. I was always smarter than most of the people around me, but I was also lazier. When I got into college and my advisor saw my ACT score of 33 and my GPA of 2.7, she knew something didn't add up. It took her about 5 minutes to figure out I'd been lazy in high school. If I would have put in just a little more effort, my future could have been so much easier. Work your butt off, it'll pay off for you later. I promise.
So those are just a few of the thoughts I'd love to pass along to myself back in 1994. I wonder when 2032 rolls around, what I'll want to go back and tell myself at 35. Why wait? Make the changes in your heart, your attitude, and in your life that will help you make the most of life in 2013. I'm trying!
If I could write a letter to me and send it back in time to myself at seventeen,
First I'd prove it's me by saying, look under your bed, there's a Skoal can and a Playboy no one else would know you hid.
And then I'd say, I know it's tough when you break up after seven months.
And yeah I know you really liked her and it just don't seem fair, but all I can say is pain like that is fast, and it's rare.
And oh, you got so much going for you, going right. But I know at seventeen it's hard to see past Friday night. But you'll make it through this and you'll see, you're still around to write this letter to me.
At the stop sign at Tomlinson and Eighth, always stop completely, don't just tap your brakes.
And when you get a date with Bridget, make sure the tank is full...on second thought, forget it, that one turns out kinda cool.
Each and every time you have a fight, just assume you're wrong and dad is right.
And you should really thank Miss Brinkman, she spent so much extra time...it's like she sees the diamond underneath and she's polishing you 'til you shine.
And oh, you got so much going for you, going right. But I know at seventeen it's hard to see past Friday night. Tonight's the bonfire rally, but you're staying home instead, because if you fail Algebra, mom and dad will kill you dead. But you'll make it through this and you'll see, you're still around to write this letter to me.
You've got so much up ahead, you'll make new friends...you should see your kids and wife. And I'd end by saying have no fear, these are nowhere near the best years of your life.
I guess I'll see you in the mirror when you're a grown man. PS, go hug Aunt Rita every chance you can!
And oh, you got so much going for you, going right. But I know at seventeen it's hard to see past Friday night. I wish you'd study Spanish. I wish you'd take a typing class. I wish you wouldn't worry, and let it be. I'd say have a little faith and you'll see. If I could write a letter to me, to me.
What would you go back and say to yourself at seventeen? What do you think, twenty years from now, you'd go back and say to yourself today?
No, I wouldn't have said to go looking for a Skoal can or a Playboy...I didn't have any of that stuff...but I can think of a few things I'd probably say to myself at seventeen (and maybe to myself today as well).
1) The best, and worst, are yet to come. I know that at every time in our life, the highs and lows seem like the best and worst of times. When my five-year-old son messes up on a video game, it's the end of the world. My daughter once was so upset at messing up during soccer practice that she tearfully exclaimed "I can't do ANYTHING right!" In high school, breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend just seemed like the end of the world.
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| Fall 1994 Cross Country (when I had just turned 17) |
2) Don't worry so much about pleasing other people. One of my biggest flaws, to this day, is that I'm a people-pleaser. I would rather tell you what you want to hear for the sake of getting along than risk conflict by speaking the truth. It's something I'm working on. At seventeen, like most people my age, I was consumed with being liked, especially by girls. So consumed, in fact, that I rarely thought about what the RIGHT thing to do was, or what God wanted me to do. Those were secondary concerns to what would make me liked, what would impress my peers, or what would get their attention. It's good advice even today. Worry about pleasing God, and worry about doing what is right. If that doesn't please certain people, well you probably don't want those folks' approval anyway.
3) Treasure relationships. Brad Paisley alluded to this in his song when he said "P.S. go hug Aunt Rita every chance you can." I've been lucky so far in life. I haven't experienced death in a way that many have. There have been those I've lost along the way though. I think of students I've had in youth ministry over the years that are no longer with us. Lisa Kitchene, Ryan Coates, Renee Karwacki. I miss my aunt Georgetta and aunt Opal so much sometimes. My friend Danielle Dickson, who I was "too busy" to talk to one night, and a few hours later she was gone. I'd go back and tell my seventeen-year-old self, "Spend every moment you can with those folks. You haven't even met some of them yet, but just treasure the time you have with them." Life really is short, folks. If you haven't figured that out yet, you will soon enough.
4) Listen to advice. Surround yourself with people who know more than you do, and LISTEN TO THEM! Your parents may drive you crazy, but they know more than you do! So do your teachers. Set your pride and ego aside and let people teach you something and make you a better person because of it. That's advice for everyone, at every age. You don't know everything. Be ok with that, and learn.
5) What you do now, affects your life later. Especially as a teenager, we think that life's choices have no lasting consequences. I was two when I learned to read. Yeah, two. I was always smarter than most of the people around me, but I was also lazier. When I got into college and my advisor saw my ACT score of 33 and my GPA of 2.7, she knew something didn't add up. It took her about 5 minutes to figure out I'd been lazy in high school. If I would have put in just a little more effort, my future could have been so much easier. Work your butt off, it'll pay off for you later. I promise.
So those are just a few of the thoughts I'd love to pass along to myself back in 1994. I wonder when 2032 rolls around, what I'll want to go back and tell myself at 35. Why wait? Make the changes in your heart, your attitude, and in your life that will help you make the most of life in 2013. I'm trying!
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