1. I would go all in pursuing my passion

My passion was anything animals. When I was young I loved hanging out at the neighbors farm and just watching the animals. I especially loved the baby piglets. I would take my friends to see them and they just complained about the smell! I realized then, not everyone shared my love for animals.

We’re often taught that you can’t make a living pursuing your passions such as writing, art, music, and yes, working with animals. Our parents and teachers encourage us to have something safe to fall back on.

I say forget that! There’s no way you can go all in with something while also having a safety net. The very act of having a safety net will prevent you from doing whatever it takes to be successful at your passion.

What better time to pursue something you love than when you’re young and enthusiastic, before you have adult responsibilities weighing you down.

2. I would move somewhere else much, much sooner

I froze to death in a cooler climate for the first half of my life. I can’t believe what a difference it has made to my health and happiness to live somewhere warm with lots of sunshine. I wish I’d made this move sooner.

I encourage all young people to move away from home and live somewhere else for at least a little while. . As you get older it becomes harder to make that move. Once you meet someone serious they may not want to move away, once you have kids you may want to stay near family, once you establish a career, etc.

There is a whole big world outside of the small community you grew up in. Expand your horizons, try new foods, make new friends, explore new interests. You can always go back home.

3. I would not let fear get in my way

I’ll be honest with you. I let fear keep me from doing so many things. The list is so long I won’t even attempt to tell you all of the things I missed out on due to fear. Now that I look back, I’m not sure what I was actually afraid of. Fear of failing? Fear of looking stupid?

Will Smith has a great quote in his movie “After Earth” where he says “Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist.”

If I had it to do over I would take chances and try new things. I would travel at every opportunity, take the crazy job, learn some new things and really challenge myself. I would definitely do some amazing, epic stuff!

Except for anything to do with heights, not doing that, or snakes, nope.