Letter to my Younger Self: Growth

Dear Freshman Year Ivan,  

 I know things are strange right now. You’re thinking about leaving O’Dea because you don’t feel like you fit in yet, or maybe you think another school would be better. But you should stay. Things won’t always feel like this.

Most of what you’re feeling is just you adjusting, growing up, and figuring out where you belong. It takes time.

You don’t see it yet, but staying at O’Dea will help you become a better person and land where you need too.

Don’t wait until grades get stressful to care about them. Freshman and sophomore years matter more than you think. If you can lock in sooner, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress later when everyone starts talking about colleges, applications, and scholarships.

You can do much better than you think, but you need to put in the effort all the time, not just when things get serious.

Also, keep working with your camera. Keep taking pictures at games, editing photos late at night, and trying new things. Don’t worry about getting recognition right away. Doing free work and practicing is what will help you improve. Trust the process and stick with it because it will become something you’re really proud of.

Stop overthinking what people think. Be more willing to talk to others, meet new people, and put yourself out there. Some of the best memories and friendships come from random moments. Be more adventurous. Say yes more often. Don’t spend so much time worrying about looking awkward or saying the wrong thing.

Most importantly, be patient. You worry too much about life and your future. You act like every setback is the end of the world, but it’s just part of growing up. Everything works out eventually. Not perfectly, but it works out. You don’t need to have your whole life planned at 14. Just keep going, keep working, and trust that things will fall into place.

You’ll be okay. 

-Senior year Ivan