Written in response to the blog this challenge .

We would be sitting in a quiet cafe having a coffee.  My  Younger Self, with an enviable metabolism would be having a pot of tea and a large slice of chocolate mud cake (for I was young when mud cake was The Dessert in Australia and I was yet to discover coffee).  Me Now would be showing great restraint with a skinny cap and an Equal or two.

My Younger Self would be dressed in her best, on a student budget with a socialite’s taste.  Anxious for The Labels and the veneer of sophstication and prestige that they apparently bestow.  Dreaming of all the things she’d have on a high disposable income.

Me Now – more self confident, understanding of what suits her and not being a slave to trends.  The love of Things still very evident.  Deciding to just accept this but Be Responsible about it.  Feeling good that at least part of the high disposable income has been diverted to a mortgage and a sensible savings plan.

The conversation would be structured, to the point and the key points delivered in a single sentence, with time allowed for discussion and feedback from My Younger Self.  Me Now is a big fan of Telling It Like It Is – an enviable trait I have inherited from my mother and that she used to great effect during the nightmare years of Raising A Teenage Daughter.

Getting down to business.  I would tell My Younger Self that:

1. ‘Failures’ are the best opportunities you have to exercise your inner strength, appreciate the love of true friends and family and the start of events in your life that take you to a place far better than your lofty dreams and ambitions.
2. Thank you for (mostly) getting on with mum and dad, for staying close to them both and listening if not always following their advice.  Though there has been a divide of generations and the cultural shift of us kids being first generation Australians, we have stayed close, happy and have a mutually rewarding relationship.
3. It’s important to walk a good kilometre in the other person’s shoes before judging them and their actions.  In fact just don’t judge them.
4. Thanks for enjoying English lit and reading at school.  It has provided Me Now with an outlet of self expression that I can share in many different contexts such as blogger and facebook.  You have a great turn of phrase, kid.
5. That one sided ‘love’ and roller coastering between high anxiety and unilateral true love are a Bad Situation.  You cannot make another person love you, when they say they’re not sure they are speaking the truth, you are better than this.  No matter how broken you feel, Mr Big really is out there.  
6. Thank you for making all those fashion faux pas in the 80s and 90s.  I have now been there and done that and can just concentrate on comfort and making the best of what I have.
7. Being single in the early adult years was the greatest thing that happened between My Younger Self and Me Now.  It allowed me to face the highs and lows on my own, to recognize my own strengths and weaknesses.  To simply just be me and appreciate this.
8. Thank you for making such good lifelong friends, God included.  Though distance, work and other commitments have separated us all at times, the bonds remain strong.  We can meet anywhere on the globe and pick up where we left off… even if it was 5 years ago, God included.  Thanks also that they are all tech savvy and are on facebook.
9. That public opinion of who you are Does Not Matter.  Be true to yourself.
10. Thank you for taking up jogging in Year 12.  As Me Now, I am grateful for the discipline of the crack of dawn run.  After all these years, it’s actually hard to not get out and hit the pavement.  I’m aging pretty well for an old duck, thanks to My Younger Self.  Ditto on the healthy eating, MYS.
11. And don’t forget the sunscreen – does anyone else remember that song?