Uzo Aduba Gives Powerful Advice to Her 18-Year-Old Self in Teen Vogue Video

If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would you tell your younger self? That’s the question Teen Vogue asked Uzo Aduba in a powerful new video released on Thursday.

In the clip, the Orange Is the New Black star reads a letter she wrote for her 18-year-old self, and the advice she gives is pretty inspiring. The Medfield native believes that teenagers shouldn’t shy away from lofty ambitions and should never compromise on their goals.

“Set your bar high,” Aduba says. “Don’t climb down from where your bar is set. Demand the respect, love, care, honor, queendom that you were given and born into this world deserving.”

Since hormones and heartbreaks are constant forces in the world of high school, the Emmy Award-winning actress also offered some helpful tips on how to get over having your heartbroken. Aduba doesn’t mince words and bluntly states that it’s pretty rough trying to get over an old flame, but that shouldn’t stop a person from attempting to love again.

“It’s going to hurt, I’m not going to even lie,” she says. “I think that’s the risk we have to take to reach the side of greatness and that’s where love lives.”

Aduba adds, “When it comes to heartbreak, even though you felt it, dare to love again.”

Check out the full empowering clip above.