A coffee date with my younger self
reflection, honesty and more coffee please
At 21, Lyndsey was a dragon—fierce, passionate, relentless. She charged through life, fueled by endless coffee and sheer will.
Looking back, I admire her fire, her determination, and the way she threw herself into everything without hesitation. But if I could sit across from her now, if we could share a quiet moment over coffee, what would I tell her? What would she tell me?
I imagine her rushing in after a workout, flushed with energy, gripping her third coffee of the day, a Lara Bar in the other hand.
I smile at her intensity while sipping my decaf with heavy cream, settled into the serenity I’ve earned. We both wear ripped jeans—some things never change. She radiates happiness, but there’s anxiety in her eyes, a weight she doesn’t fully recognize yet.
I tell her she’s amazing. That she doesn’t have to do everything for everyone else. That she can lean into what she loves unapologetically. She laughs it off—Oh, I can handle it. But I see right through her. You’re not handling it very well, I tell her gently. And she knows I’m right.
She studies me for a moment before breaking into a smile. You look happy, she says. And I am. Because we did it—the love, the family, the life we dreamed of. And even better, we learned that everything becomes easier when we love ourselves first.
When we stop searching for validation in places that could never give it to us.
When we listen to that small, persistent voice inside—the one we once judged but was really our superpower all along.
She asks me how I’m really doing… I tell her I’m still stepping into my purpose, and she looks me straight in the eye and calls bullshit. And honestly? I love that about her.
She may be anxious, overachieving, and full of imposter syndrome, but she has balls. And in that moment, she reignites something in me—a fire I hadn’t realized had dimmed under the weight of the world.
I thank her. We order another round of coffee and take a walk, two versions of myself—one still learning, the other finally understanding.
We are allowed to be many versions of ourselves. To evolve, to unlearn, to grow into the people we were always meant to be.
x.o.lynsP.S. if you’re feeling a little bit like a hot mess - that’s good - i specialize in hot mess! Yes, you can have that juicy happy life beyond your wildest dreams. Let’s make it happen! (just click here!)