3 inspirational women share their letters to their younger selves- 3

Image courtesy of @milly.evans/ Instagram

In this three-part series, three inspirational women share their letters to their younger selves, about self esteem, worry and love. This is advice that they wish they could have shared with themselves and now they share it with you. In the final part of this series, Milly Evans shares her letter to her younger (even younger as she’s only 18) self.

18-year-old Milly may seem too young to be offering advice to her younger self but her work is truly inspirational. Founder of Our Progress Project and I Support Sex Ed, she’s been campaigning for sex education as a human right at the same time studying for her A-levels, proving that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. Below is her letter to younger Milly.

To my younger self,

The best advice I can give you, and something which I am still learning myself, is to trust your instincts. It won’t change the choices that you’ll ultimately make, but it will take away the worry and hurt that endlessly forgiving people or waiting to act on your worries cause. Trust the gut feeling that tells you that that relationship is unhealthy, even when people are telling you that you’re a perfect couple. Trust that you know your body and your mental health, and question people who tell you that the choices you make with them are wrong. Trust in your ideas and the ideas of the people you love and commit to speaking out and making a change.

Just keep being you. Everything that has happened in my past, brilliant and awful, has shaped who I am today and I refuse to take back anything that has happened or how I dealt with it. You’ve never been afraid of having an opinion or talking about controversial topics but sometimes you’ve doubted if being outspoken is really a good thing. But quitting isn’t an option. Even when it gets really tough and you feel like giving up your campaigning, you have to keep going. You’re not the kind of person who can sit back and watch injustice happen.

And it is okay to care. It is okay to care about the planet you live on and the people who live on it and to want to see change. You have to recognise that, no matter how long it takes you to get there, you have the power to make things happen. Sometimes it’s painful, often exhausting, but there is nothing more rewarding than progress.

One more thing. I love you. You should tell yourself that more often.

Milly