Monáe's Musings | Fabulous and Fortunate Podcast

If I could go back in time, I would tell my 15- year-old self: don’t be so hard on yourself. You have so far to go, so don’t give up on yourself. As you go through life you will meet so many people and each of them are placed in your life to teach you something, each connection has a reason. Trust your intuition, that gut feeling is there for a reason. It can save your life, your sanity, and your time. Be your own person and embrace your life path. You cannot control how people feel about you but what you can control is how you feel about yourself, love on yourself more and the love you want from the world will be attracted to you. Invest in Zoom, now. I would also tell my 15-year-old self, “You’re about to go plant-based in two years so eat as many conecuh sausages as possible before you quit cold turkey.”

Stand up for yourself even if this means losing something. Romanticize your life: sip your tea a little slower, laugh when it rains and stomp your feet in puddles, listen to the Breakfast at Tiffany’s soundtrack as you do your morning routine, let grudges roll off your back, sip your water from a wine glass if that’s what it takes to get your full 64 ounces a day in, tell your body thank you more often, read for a little longer in the morning, enjoy being a child and not having any bills (sing in the shower because of this), start collecting records for the record player you will have in a few years, and spend more time walking to the beach rather than spending hours online letting random strangers judge your pictures based on “likes.” These things will prepare you for the woman that you will grow to become. To choose paths less taken is not an easy feat.

It’s hard being a teenager, with all the pressures and uncertainties and insecurities. But what is also beautiful is that you set the foundation for the journey you will take now and all the way up into your 22nd year of age. 15 is the first time you are faced with the reality of growing up. There’s something about knowing that 16 is on the way that makes you sober up and realize now is the time to start deciding where you wish to be in 2 years. Let this flow, show up everyday like you are currently doing and everything will work itself out in due time.

Lastly I would say, this beautiful life is yours and it is truly what you make it. Staying on your own path will lead you to the most fruitful parts of your life’s destiny. But alas, the first day you plant a seed is not the day you will see the fruit of your labor. Keep pressing and believing in yourself.

P.S. You finally do live your dream life in about 6 years and you are going to look back at your 15- year-old self from another time dimension and be so proud that you didn’t give up and you’ll say “go little rockstar.”