Letter to my younger self

What would you say to your 16-year-old self if you could go back in time? Every issue we ask a well-known name to offer their younger self, words of wisdom. This issue, 57-year-old pop star Kim Wilde, the most-charted British solo female act of the ’80’s, who burst on to the music scene in ’81 with ‘Kids in America’ and has went on to carve a successful career as an author and TV presenter, thanks to her horticultural talents and as a popular radio presenter has a word or two with her teenage self.

Dear Me.
I’m writing this letter to you at age 16, I am now nearly 57. I’ve got to tell you, inside my head I don’t feel much different from you now, but my body… well, that’s a whole other thing!

So far, you’ve had an amazing journey in many ways, but let me tell you the story gets more incredible the older you get. If you look up the meaning of the word ‘incredible’ you will find, ‘astounding’, ‘unthinkable’ and ‘unbelievable’, these words will come to mean something to you, mostly in good ways, but some bad too. You will slowly start to see life from different perspectives, discovering who you really are, whom you really love and who really loves you. This crazy and often cruel world will sometimes leave you feeling numb with sadness, but somewhere deep inside you will hear your voice quietly guiding you through it all, until the numbness and sadness disappear which it does… until the next time.

You are often confused about what the meaning of happiness is, believing it to be wrapped up in a relationship, a hit record, or being skinny enough to get into a size 10! You will later discover that happiness and unhappiness are on 2 sides of the same coin, so when the bad times turn up, you won’t be surprised, in fact you’ll be ready and waiting for them, stronger as each year passes.

Trust your instincts, they’ll never let you down, that’s not to say they won’t confuse you from time to time. Confusion is a great space for personal growth, an opportunity to learn something new and important, so don’t be scared of it.

There is a reason you love the outdoors, you can trust in that feeling, it will take you on wonderful adventures, changing your life and that of those around you in transformational ways.

Don’t forget to always count your blessings, from a good night’s sleep, to the ability to be able to get up and out of your own bed, there are many who don’t have such luxuries.

Kim x

Kim Wilde’s ‘Wilde Winter Songbook’ is available now on CD from music shops and online and is available for download from Amazon, Google Play and iTunes.