Take care of yourself.

If I could go back in time and write a letter to myself at 17, I would say...

The best years of your life are yet to be lived. Don't spend so much time/energy/money trying to fit in during High School. Once you graduate, most of the people you were friends with will become memories. Very few stick around. But the ones who do, hold on to tightly. Those are the friends who count.

The prom dress is a GREAT choice. You will not regret it many years later when you look back at old pictures.

Learn to forgive. Life is too short to carry all that hurt around with you. It won't make you any less of a person to forgive and move on.

Change the oil in your car ever 3 months.

Wear sunscreen. Even if you don't "burn", and even if you are slightly embarassed to be seen putting it on. And don't go tanning.

Do not buy the 100 year old fixer-upper house. The housing market will crash and you'll lose all of they money you put into it.

Wear a bikini as much as you can. Soon you will have stretch marks covering half of your body and YOU  won't want to. (But, you won't regret the stretch marks either because they are the battle scars.)

Take care of yourself. Guard your heart. Nourish your spirit. Eat well. Exercise.

Yellow is not your best color. Neither is orange.

Listen to your elders.

Stay home on Halloween unless you are taking a child trick-or-treating.

Save as much money as you can and work hard.

He's not worth it. None of the "He's" will be worth it until you meet Mr B. In which case, he IS worth it.

DO NOT HIKE IN PLATFORM SHOES. Ever. Trust me on this one.

Appreciate your family more. You'll need them.

It is not ok to eat an entire carton of icecream or an entire box of oreos while pregnant. It is not easy to lose 54+ lbs. (Oh, and you'll tell everyone it's just water weight.....)

You will have a life that will end up more amazing than you can imagine right now. Happily ever after is right around the corner, just sit back and enjoy the ride. Stop searching and let it happen.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo