What’s one thing you know now that would have saved your younger self a lot of pain?
As someone who came from a broken home and grew up without the consistent presence of my parents, I would tell my younger self that the circumstances we are born into and the decisions others make can have a lasting impact on our lives, but they do not have to determine the path we take. Our beginnings do not have to define our destinations. I would tell her to believe in herself, remain committed to what she envisions for her future, and never allow her circumstances to convince her that she is destined to become another statistic. Take what you can from every experience, learn from it, build from it, and always remember that you have the power to choose the direction of your own journey.