‘Dear Me’

Last Christmas I bought my younger cousin/adopted little sister the book ‘From me to me‘ based on the idea of, ‘If you could write a letter to your 16-year-old self, from the perspective of who you are now, what would you say?’. An inspiring read, she returned the gift in kind by giving me ‘Dear Me: A Letter to my Sixteen Year Old Self‘ this Christmas. Both books are collections of letters written by the world’s best-loved personalities to their younger selves.

As per usual with things that inspire me, I just couldn’t keep it to myself. So as a taster, here are a few of my favourite quotes:

Hugh Jackman
You will meet an incredible woman, and the choice to marry her will be the easiest choice of your life. Just listen to your gut.

Eileen Fulton
You do not have to marry the first man you sleep with

 

‘All I can do is Keep Breathing’…… and listening to my music

I sat in the Station, held my head in my hands and willed the time to pass so I could get home and just cry. I had bumped into someone who knew us as a couple. She didn’t know we weren’t a ‘we’ anymore. I told her about how amicably things ended and how we were still friends…. Well, until recently when things had become a little more ‘complicated’; I delicately explained. I tried to keep a strong poker face as I told her the second part, as thoughts filled my head of how much had changed since I saw her last. How somebody who was, (and still is) so important to me was now another ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ (not quite that distant and disconnected, but not much closer). But knowing me (and my massive give-away eyes), it all showed. I could see the car crash expression on her face.

I still thought I was fine until I walked away and thoughts were all I was left with. And suddenly my whole body felt wrong and as if I’d been punched in the stomach. I had to concentrate on just breathing. It was at this point I thought of my biggest crutch through this whole upheaval- my music, and particularly Ingrid Michaelson: ‘All I can do is Keep Breathing’.