To my younger self,
You have no idea how much you will fall in love with what you do. Your favorite thing is to watch your dad edit commercials and campaigns on his computer, and now that is what you have grown to do. My advice to you is to continue to keep doing what you are, and continue to grow and develop your creativity. No idea is a bad idea, and you will soon learn to realize this.
You will become uncomfortable at times, but you will find that discomfort is where you experience the most growth. Later in life, you will decide to attend the school that you fell in love with as a freshman in high school. The final decision will be made as students smile at you from inside a window in Weimer Hall. This window is called The Agency at UF, and it will feel like home when you get to college.
During your first day at The Agency, you will feel an immense amount of impostor syndrome. This is normal - even for professionals. Your supervisors will believe in you, and you will get put on your first account and your first networking trip. During this time, you will become incredibly driven, and you will be reminded why you love what you’re doing. You will find a home in public relations and even go into leadership at The Agency.
You will play soccer for almost 18 years of your life, get injured, and find yourself in other ways. You fall in love with sports again in college, and you become a member of Gators Creative Media and Branding. Here, you get to be on the field, the court, and at the ballpark. You will LOVE everything about it; the collaboration, the creativity, the energy, the excitement -- everything.
Remember that love and passion you felt for St. Jude Leadership Society? You will find that again with Dance Marathon at UF benefitting UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital; first as a dancer, then a public relations captain, then the Assistant Director of External Communication. You now have the opportunity to make a difference doing what you love - use it.
My biggest piece of advice (as cliche as it sounds) is to keep following what YOU love to do. You will face many challenges along the way, discover new passions, meet new people and get involved in many things. Keep watching your dad edit and market, keep paying attention to the trends, keep watching sports, and keep sticking to your morals. Your goal is to stay true to what you want to accomplish, because that little girl you are now has no idea what is in-store for you.
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Keep going,
Your future self
