Dear 18 year old Andy,

Guess what? You are on the right path.

I know that being a dietitian is all you wanted, and even though you are nowhere close to it just yet, you will get it.

So high-five to that!

Oh, and guess what, you will be able to have that private practice you always dreamed of too but it will be about 1,000x harder than you think to bring to life.

Good thing your stubborn AF, oh and don’t worry that won’t change with time.

If my memory serves me correctly, you are about 130 lbs and have just started to eat spinach every single day.

And yea, I know you don’t enjoy being that skinny, but once you realize how fun it is to stuff yourself all the time, you will get to a better place.

The good news is that you have probably eaten more veggies in this last year than the previous 5+ combined.

Good job, but your spinach love affair won’t last long.

I’m sure you will hardly believe me when I tell you but you are a few years away from meeting the love of your life.

Her name is kale.

You have NO IDEA how much this gorgeous creature will change you for the better, both personally and professionally.

Right now, you can’t stand the idea of having your picture taken.

But kale will bring out your bright side, and you will take so many photos together.

And yes, you will learn to smile with your teeth.

You will grow together and embark on a beautiful, weaving journey to success, self-fulfillment and nutrition jokes sprinkled with vitamin D references.

And yes, it will be a better love story than Twilight.

Oh and speaking of vitamin D, you currently could not name 3 sources of vitamin D, even if your life depended on it.

Heck you don’t even like fish yet (which btw is the best source of the D, if anyone asks) but one day you will be brave enough to make innuendo-laden jokes about vitamin D, and people will love them.

I know your timid ass will hardly be able to believe all the things I’m saying to you right now.

I get it, and you should be wary because you still have a long road ahead of you on this journey from becoming a skinny kid with a shitty appetite (and a dream!) who plays computer games all day to being a semi-decent soccer player with an impeccably balanced dietary pattern (thank me later for that one bud, ur killing it in the future, BMs for days!) who helps people far and wide work towards the very same thing themselves.

Oh and just to gross you out, you will actually try and grow to love tofu one day.

Mom will never believe that one.

I guess by now you’re probably waiting for the part where I tell you all the things you need to do differently to achieve our goals faster than I did.

But the thing is, it doesn’t work like that.

You will still love video games at the age of 31, even if you spend only a fraction of the time playing them because you are too busy staying up past midnight writing random articles like this.

Funny enough, you actually won’t view them as a waste of time in the future because they make you far more relate-able and allow you to hold conversations with a much broader demographic of people, which is super important for your career.

Yes, career, you will have one!

I know that right now you feel far away from impacting anyone or being anything special, but both are within your grasp.

Make sure you keep trying your best during those part-time summer writing jobs for that real estate magazine.

I know writing about driveway paving  and home theatre furniture is boring af, but your passion for writing may pay off one day.

You’re a smart kid and you got like what, 98 in grade 12 english?, so I’m sure you realize that last sentence is foreshadowing AFFF.

I must now be brief because SKYNET rules the future and the machines have taken over.

I will leave you with one last thing before I go, a 9 letter word which will mean nothing to you for at least a decade.

I-N-S-T-A-G-R-A-M, it will be worth the wait.