A Love Letter to the Women I’ve Been
On 33, grace, and giving credit where it’s due
Welcome to A Value Savvy Life—where we talk about money, mindset, and meaning. This is a space for thoughtful women building lives that align with what they truly value—no shame, no overwhelm, just real conversations and practical shifts that lead to freedom.
Two things I’m not very good at:
Reflecting on my accomplishments—feeling accomplished, proud of myself, enjoying them—and giving myself grace.
Since last week I was feeling a little heavy with my 33rd birthday looming (and, turns out, I was also just entering my luteal phase—aka the phase of my cycle where I always think everything is wrong in my life), this week I wanted to be a little lighter and kinder to myself. And hopefully, remind you to do the same.
So, for this week’s post, I’m reflecting on my journey to 33 and some of the things I’m thankful to my younger self for.
We’ll call it:
A love letter to all the women I was before.
To be honest, I knew this was the direction I wanted to go with this week’s post. But then I started procrastinating because I don’t love reflecting on my “accomplishments” or talking about what I’m proud of myself for. Like many of us, I expected these things of myself and still expect more.
But that’s the whole point of this exercise and this broader journey of self-love and self-care. It shouldn’t make me (or any of us) cringe to say, “I’m proud of myself for X, Y, or Z.” Recognizing what we’ve achieved and overcome while still working toward who we want to become is an important part of building self-confidence. It helps us appreciate the smaller moments, habits, and chances that shaped us.
So with that, here are six things I’m proud of myself for in my 11 years as a “real adult” (aka post-college, ages 22–32):
1. Moving out of state (and across the country) right after college for a job opportunity and adventure.
This decision came from both desire and fear. I was a marketing major like a million others, and I put pressure on myself to get a job in my field right away. Despite the $30K salary, I was afraid to risk turning it down and ending up without a “real job.” I also did want to leave Ohio after graduation, and it was an opportunity to work on a global brand I loved. I was young, bright-eyed, and excited.
2. Teaching myself to live within my means, even with a low salary and student loans.
$30K isn’t a lot, and I had no idea what “money management” even meant. I quickly racked up $5K in credit card debt on top of student loans. I had the benefit of splitting rent with my then-boyfriend-now-husband, and since neither of us made much, we shared a one-bedroom to keep it affordable. I hated the feeling of my money being gone before I even got it. So I started a spend tracker, picked up side gigs (coaching volleyball, watching dogs on Rover), paid off the credit card debt, and kept budgeting to avoid overspending again.
3. Admitting when the cross-country move wasn’t right for me—and making a plan to come home.
I missed home almost the second I got to Texas, but that felt normal. I gave it time and ended up staying three lovely years. We had built a solid group of friends. But it wasn’t what I pictured for my post-grad life. I was underpaid, overworked, and knew I wanted to travel more. I realized that if we moved home, we’d have more time and money to travel new places instead of just home. So, when our lease ended, we quit our jobs, moved in with our parents, and started over in Ohio. I know for sure we wouldn’t be living the life we do today had we not made that choice.
4. Not settling in jobs or places that didn’t fit—even when I “felt bad” for not staying longer.
When I got back to Ohio, I landed a job at a company I loved and was so excited. The pay wasn’t what I hoped for, but it was a little more than before, so I told myself it was fine. The problem was, I got starry-eyed about the brand name and what I thought the role would be. It wasn’t what I wanted—and it wasn’t even in the city I wanted to live in.
A few months in, I started job searching, and by month six, I had a new offer in Columbus (where I wanted to be), with a $25K higher base salary and potential for a 15% annual bonus. (Mind you, when I had negotiated at the first company, they belittled me—so this was a win on multiple levels.)
Even though I was terrified of how it would look to leave after six months, it was a no-brainer. People were shocked and bummed, but I survived and got to live in my own brand new apartment—something I had dreamt of since before graduating.
5. Slowing down and doing internal work when I realized I was running from myself.
I job-hopped two more times after that. Once after 1 year and 8 months, then again after 2.5 years, which brings me to my current role. I don’t regret either move, but for the first time, when I looked back in hindsight, I could see the good in the roles I left behind. That was new for me. I had always been someone who believed there were “better things ahead.” So I started therapy to figure out what I might be running from, because the only constant in every situation was me.
6. Taking steps to explore new paths and hobbies that align more with the life I actually want.
I spent a decade giving everything to jobs and achievements that would never love me back. Each time, I ended up in the same place—burned out, bored, and unfulfilled. I realized I had nothing outside of work that I invested in.
Why do we tell kids they can try anything and be anything and then as adults we stop trying? We’re expected to stay on the same path, in the same place, and just… be.
Without that realization, I wouldn’t be writing this today. So I’m grateful to myself for trying something new, even when it’s scary to be bad at new things, and even when it meant letting go of who I thought I was supposed to be.
When it comes to giving myself grace, I’ve had to learn to let go of the pressure to perfectly achieve and build this. I was out of town last weekend, nonstop from Friday to Sunday, so getting this post out Monday just wasn’t realistic. But I reminded myself: joy is productive. I wasn’t giving up, just adjusting to meet my needs this week.
If you can relate, I want to challenge you to do the same.
What are things you’ve achieved or overcome that you haven’t given yourself credit for? What’s something you’ve been hard on yourself about—where you could offer a little grace instead?
Here’s to giving our younger selves some credit.
To seeing the small brave choices for what they were—pivots, beginnings, survival.
And to giving ourselves grace in the process of becoming who we are now.
We deserved it then. We deserve it now.
xx,
Paige
If this resonated with you, I’d love to hear from you—drop a comment or send me a DM on Instagram + TikTok.
And if you know someone who might need to hear this too? Send it their way. We’re all just trying to feel a little less alone.