It has been 10 years since Lauren Conrad auditioned for MTV’s reality show Laguna Beach.

The show followed Conrad and her group of friends (and enemies) as they made their way through the challenges and accomplishments of high school. Once the show ended, Lauren landed her own spin-off series titled The Hills. Lauren has made a name for herself in the fashion industry, and is also a published author.

In anticipation of the 10-year anniversary of Laguna Beach, Lauren took to her personal webpage to reflect and write a letter to her 18-year-old self. “Those of you who were Laguna Beach fans may have realized that it’s officially been 10 years since my friends and I graduated high school and went off into the ‘real world.’ So crazy! In light of my 10-year reunion, I’ve been doing a little reflecting,” Conrad wrote.

Conrad first encouraged herself to always wear sunscreen. “When I was a teenager, tanning was the mode du jour and I was all about getting that sun-kissed (or tanning bed orange…) glow,” Conrad said. “Nowadays, I’ve learned to embrace my natural skin tone in the hopes that it will mean less wrinkles and a lower risk of skin cancer as I get older.”

She then told her younger self to enjoy being young while she can. “When I was 18, I was in a hurry to grow up. Instead, I wish I would have taken a beat to just enjoy being young,” she added. “So many things are new when you’re that age and the level of responsibility is still low. It’s important to enjoy that phase just like any other.”

Finally, she encouraged herself to be an individual and not follow the crowd. “Being 18 years old means you’re at an age of many exciting changes. For so long you’ve gone to school with the same people, and everything you’ve done is with the same group of friends in more or less the same environment,” Lauren explained. “Then, for the first time you get to go off on your own and make real, conscious decisions about where you want life to take you. You get to choose your school, your major, and what kind of person you’ll become. So when you’re making these decisions, be an individual. It’s the best way to discover who you really are.”

Lauren is currently planning her wedding to her fiancé William Tell.

Image via Wikimedia Commons