Sometimes what you need to hear most doesn’t always sound like great advice. In fact, most of the things I would tell to high-school me sound like bad advice at first glance, but if I was suddenly zapped back to 2009 these really are the things I would tell little high-school freshman me…not that I would have listened…
Say the comeback to the person being an asshole to you.
Don’t let people treat you like crap because you don’t want to confront them. Not everyone sees respect as something that people should automatically be given unless they do something to show that they don’t deserve it. A sad reality of life is that many people won’t respect you unless you show them that you won’t take their crap.
Accept your awkwardness.
You’re always going to be kind of awkward- just go with it and learn to laugh at yourself.
Do stupid/spontaneous things every once in a while.
Some of the best memories are kind of stupid, spontaneous ones. Don’t do anything too stupid, but don’t be afraid to add to your mental collection of crazy stories. As J.K Rowling said, “It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”
Stop focusing on your future (so much).
You aren’t running out of time and you’re not supposed to have it all figured out. Stop thinking that you have to choose one thing to be passionate about and just have fun where you are and find ways to do the things you love in your own way. P.S you’re still not going to have it all figured out in college…
Don’t try to ‘keep the peace’ by hiding what you really think.
Own your opinions. Speak out against injustice and never let anyone make you feel like you don’t have a right to your own opinions (but always stay open minded).
Realize that you do care what people think, but make sure you care about what the right people think.
You don’t think that you care about what people think, but I see now that you really did. Accept that, but make sure to care about what the right people think- people who lift you up and make you feel good about yourself while also being honest with you when they need to be. People you can actually talk to without feeling like you have to hide parts of who you are. Those are the people whose opinions should matter to you.
And those are the chunks of advice I would throw at younger me. I probably wouldn’t have listened and I’m not sure I would have wanted myself to. I had to make the mistakes I made to become the person I am now. All I can do is take these I-would-haves with me into my vague but exciting future. Here’s to many more mistakes…