I have a confession to make.

I wasn’t always this cool!

Okay, maybe I lied…I’m still not cool, but there is one thing that I can say definitively: I have grown up a heck of a lot faster than I ever thought I would.

Yes, we have all heard that cliché statement that college is the best years of our lives and that you will become who you were always meant to be here, and until recently I can honestly say I didn’t agree. I am not trying to be that melodramatic guy who says that the light has finally shown on me and now I’m this great person, but as I near my date of graduation there is this sort of reflection period, a sense that has sort of come over me. How have I changed? What have I changed? What could I have done differently?

Oh dear, why is this image of my eighteen year old self coming to mind?! Me, getting ready to graduate high school, aspiring to be someone different, the excitement of the unknown!

But what if there was a way to go back in time and say something to your younger self? What would you say and how would you say it? It’s hard to just pick one thing, one piece of advice that encompasses everything these past four years have taught me and then…aha! (light shining from the heavens moment)…I got it…TAKE RISKS! Taking a risk might seem easy but it’s truly not, it is something that I had to struggle with day in and day out these past four years.

I changed my major and transferred to Ohio State. I met new people and tried new things. All of that involved me taking risks! So here it is. I sit myself down, tell myself to listen, and say it one more time (because I tend to be a little distracted and forgetful every now and then):

I have gone through more than I could ever have imagined in the past four years. You may or may not follow my same path. You may be a lot smarter than me and do things I never could, but there is one thing that you have to promise me: day in and day out I want you to take risks! Because only when you take a risk and push yourself out of your comfort zone will you be able to grow as a person!

I understand this whole thing is mostly about my advice for my younger self but it does carry weight for others. Whether you take more risks or commit to a different goal, take a good look at yourself and see what you have done recently and focus on that, because only then will you be able to see the type of person you have become!