If I could go back and give younger me one piece of advice, it would be:

Always show up as you are, in all your weird glory.

With humble confidence in who that is and a willingness to show her to the world.

Never shying away from an event, room, or table because you don't think you have a place there.

Never allowing others to demand more from you than you are comfortably willing to give and working towards getting comfortable with being uncomfortable when it's growth-prompting.

With an irrefutable understanding that there is no neighborhood, community, or social circle you don't, without even trying, make better.

With the knowledge that there's no mold you must ever fit into, nor are you required to 'break the mold.' You can be your own mold and happily mediocre. You just can't ever question your innate value and awesomeness.

To anyone younger than me or anyone else who may need to hear this:

Don't let it take you thirty-plus years to be unapologetic about who you are.

Love who she is now, love who she is tomorrow, and then come back around and love who she is later.

Because who she is, is you, every single gosh darn version of you that you are meant to be.

And people are meant to know her.

To know you.

So let them.