MEET ARIANA
I was asked to write a letter to my younger self & what a wonderful experience this has been. Thank you for the opportunity Ariana, & I encourage others to do so too. Below is my letter…
Dear 15 year old Yasmine,
I write to you while having my morning lemon & ginger tea in bed at 4:00am. No…you’re not doing any homework up at this time believe it or not, you have just finished doing admin work for your business and you’re reflecting on the piece you have to write.
In order to move forward you have to learn from past mistakes and setbacks so that history doesn’t repeat itself. Søren Kierkegaard once said “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” And this brings to me to why I am writing to you:
Don’t be too hard on yourself. You don’t have to have everything planned. In fact it’s too idealistic. We live in a realistic world and one must be practical and pragmatic to master life. It is ok to fail as long as you don’t stop and keep moving forward. I know when you failed your GCEs you thought your world had come crashing down, it wasn’t the end of the world darling. In fact, it was only the ending of the prologue and the start of chapter one.
You are loved. Don’t you ever forget that. If someone tells you something you don’t want to hear and it is coming from a good place it is because you are loved.
Don’t care too much about what people think. More than likely, they are projecting their insecurities. Nobody has time for negative energy. As long as you’re not hurting anyone, do you boo. People always have things to say; good or bad. Lef dem leh den tok! (Leave them to talk!).
I’m glad you didn’t grow up too quickly. Life is a marathon not a sprint and remember that as you navigate through this journey of life. Even now, I’ve internalized this more than ever. Everyone’s path is different, don’t compare your journey to others.
I wish you meditated and practiced yoga more, so then you wouldn’t have had a massive spiritual lapse in your early twenties. Prayer is good but engaging the mind and body also strengthens the soul.
Continue to smile and be helpful.
Don’t be [too] judgmental. You don’t know why people make the choices they do or are in the situations they are in especially if it hasn’t happened to you. Be humble, because life has humbled me now and I wish I knew that when I was your age.
You’ve always been stubborn and that won’t change. Good. In order for real change to come about in Sierra Leone one NEEDS to be stubborn, so keep it up. Keep pushing. You’re tenacious and fierce. Use that to drive you to lead you down your path. Keep the fire burning and continue to recruit allies along the way.
Sending good vibes, karma and love your way. Stay smart & shady.
Yours truly,
20-something year old Yasmine.
