Dear Past Self by Nadia

Dear Past Self by Nadia - July 2025 Scholarship Essay

There is a lot of advice I would give my younger self, especially after experiencing my first two years of college. From boys, friendships, to experiencing change, I wish I knew the things I know now. But I also now realize that you must experience life fully and make mistakes to learn and grow. If there were one main piece of advice I could give, I’d tell myself to be authentically me.
In middle and high school, every teenager struggles with finding their own identity. I was always worried about what others think and how people would react if I acted a certain way. Also, sometimes changing my morals just because someone said to do something, or just to impress them. At this time, I was still kind of new to my faith. I grew up in the church, but I never made my faith my own; it was more influenced by my parents. I was easily swayed and tempted to try to fit in with the crowd I saw as the “cool” kids. Thankfully, I never went too far into the wrong crowd, but if I knew this, I could have saved myself a lot of confusion and heartache.
Once I got to college and away from home, I was able to learn more about myself and the person I want to be. I do wish I had learned this lesson sooner so that I could have inspired others to do the same. I’m not perfect at all, but I strive more now to be my true self and represent Christ in all that I do.