From: Paige Ray. Mom, Writer, and Podcaster. Age 31.5
To: Paige Burkham. Freshman college student. Age 18

 

Dear Paige –

I don’t have loads of time so I’m going to make this quick.

You will get married to a wonderful man and you will have a beautiful family. Right now, that’s basically all you think about. Ever.
And I just wanted to let you know that all that thinking, and wondering, and stressed out worrying isn’t going to do a single thing to speed up the process.

Repeat: It will not help.

But, since I know you’d rather be “doing” something than just un-patiently waiting for that day to come here are a few things you can do instead.

Write more.
Right now, you are pretty consistent about journaling but you need to stretch yourself. Take that class that everyone is scared of because there’s a creative writing project at the end – that challenge is good for you! Just because writing doesn’t come easy doesn’t mean it’s not worthwhile. 

Read more.
Yes – I know you can make it through a paperback romance novel during a long weekend. And that’s fine. But, again, stretch yourself. Ask a teacher you admire what they last read. Or even, ask them what you wish they had read when they were your age. You won’t be disappointed.

 

Pick the experience over the object.

You were raised in a home where money was tight so you are always conscious of where you spend money. That’s great but that doesn’t always help when you have a choice of two things to spend money on. My advice is to go with the experience, the non-tangible thing that will allow you to make memories. Cars get old, clothes go out of style, but no one can take away the memory of you dancing in the rain in the middle of the Ouachita hills (yep- that’s on its way).

 

You may have noticed a common theme: stretching.

Getting out of your comfort zone.

Being willing to take a risk.

 

Yes, writing more means putting your thoughts out there for people to see and potentially judge. The payoff of self-expression is worth it.

Yes, reading different things means struggling over different and new concepts. The knowledge is worth it.

Yes, being the girl who chooses the experience over the “thing” means you might not have the latest and best, but you will have the most interesting conversations.

 

You have so much ahead of you. Take the risk and soak up the awesome that happens because of it.

 

Love,

P

 

Paige is a brand new mom who was scared that all of her creativity would be sucked dry after becoming a mother. Hear Motherhood is the project that came about because of that fear. Instagram is her favorite – visit her there because she’d love to hear your story.