23 things I’d tell my future self on Day 1

It’s not gonna be easy, but it’ll be worth it

I know you think you’re gonna hate the bucket showers, but funny enough, you’re actually going to really miss them once they’re gone

Squad Leader Regan is going to make you cry. A lot. Just remember that crying is healthy and good for you and you’re going to grow a ton from every tear

You and Taylor are going to split your tents who will be named Chip and Joanna. One is the closet and one is the bedroom. It’ll make sense, you’ll see.

You have no clue how much you’re going to love sleeping in the eno. It is heaven in that thing and you’ll sleep like a baby.

Go ahead and get rid of that sleeping pad you brought. You will literally use it for 2 nights and sleep without one for the rest of the 3 months (good thing you got that eno)

You’re gonna feel defeated and a sense of loss of control, but be patient. It’ll grow you in the long run and you’ll be grateful in the end. 

So your team’s name is going to change. 3 times.

Going off of that, you’re going to go through a lot. Your team is going to go through a lot. Honestly, the squad is gonna go through a lot. What matters is that y’all are gonna come through on the other side and it’ll feel so incredibly rewarding when you do. 

 Don’t let anyone fool you. That fitness hike is something else. And by something else, I mean it’ll be the single-handedly hardest thing you’ve ever done. But by the grace of God, your squadmates, and Jodi freaking Owens, you’ll finish it in time and you’ll feel incredibly accomplished.

 You’re gonna laugh. A lot. Don’t want to spoil anything for you because the jokes are just too dang funny.

 Ooo bugs. You’re gonna meet a lot of little creatures. I’ll leave it at that.

 You, Ellie, and JP are going to spend lots of mornings waking up at 5 AM to head down and start your day. No one could really tell you why but y’all actually really enjoyed it.

 People are going to start shaving their heads and doing a bunch of crazy things to their hair. Perseverance. You make sure multiple people promise to keep you accountable for not doing anything to your hair.

 E squad is going to have a really fun day playing in the mud. I mean you still have orange coming out of your clothes from that day, but it was worth it.

 You and some of your squadmates are going to notch your eyebrows. I wish I was joking but I mean you can only be a dumb kid for so long so why not now?

 Josh is going to build a Sukkah which will turn out to be really cool. The men then host Sukkot under the Sukkah for the squad and it turns out to be one of the coolest nights at AIM.

 Going off of that day, while assisting in building the Sukkah, one of the tree limbs will be dropped on your head. The next day you will be spun around in a trash can and safe to say, you’ll get a concussion.

 With that concussion, you will spend the night inside the SMP with Regan and Lauren where Regan will wake you up every 2 hours to check your pain level, ask questions and make sure you are alive. One of those questions will be, “Who is the president of the United States?” You answer with “Bob Mudd”…..

 You will be okay from the concussion, don’t worry.

 One of the coolest things is that you’ll grow immensely in your relationship with the Lord, not saying that’ll be easy whatsoever.

 You’ll learn to rely on Him in so many situations and give Him complete control, which will be an incredibly difficult thing for you to do but it’ll be so rewarding in the end.

 SPOILER ALERT: YOU’RE LAUNCHING TO ECUADOR IN JANUARY (yes, I know, crazy turn of events) The squad is so excited and ready to leave the country so GET READY!!!