Just For Fun: 15 Things I Would Tell My 15 Year Old Self
15 Things I Would Tell My 15-Year-Old Self
My daughter pulled out my high school yearbook last week and pored through the pages, barely recognizing her young mother in the pictures. Looking through the clubs and classes and classmates with her, I started thinking about all of the things I'd like to tell her, once she enters the tween and teen years. Not surprisingly, they are mostly the same things I'd go back and tell myself if I could ...
1. Have your eyebrows professionally waxed. For the love of God.
2. Be nice to your brother. He's really not as bad as you think.
3. Stop biting your nails. It’s gross.
4. Use sunscreen. Just do it.
5. He’s going to end up fat, bald, and living in the same town you grew up in. Don't waste your time angsting over him.
6. Make friends with the theatre geeks, they’re some of the coolest people in school.
7. Don’t pop your zits. It’s gross and it WILL leave scars.
8. Don’t go on that fad diet. It will forever change your relationship with food.
9. Don’t drink half a bottle of Goldschläger after your junior prom if you ever want to enjoy the taste of cinnamon again.
10. Use leave-in conditioner, buy a diffuser, and don’t brush your hair when it’s dry.
11. Don’t rely on CliffsNotes. Reading the classics really is important.
12. The popular girl who you think has it all together doesn't.
13. Soak up as much as you can in school. Your brain will never retain as much information as it does now.
14. Stop trying to be cool. It's not working.
15. Lighten up. Your life isn't so tough.
What would you tell your 15-year-old self?
I have quite a few teenage "friends" on my Facebook (due to a music scene thing, not because I'm creeping on my daughters friends) and they're all going through that why doesn't he love me angst, so I'm definitely going to post #5.
My advice I would give to myself is to care about schooling and to date that geek, and stay away from the stoners.
I would tell myself: no matter how bad things seem now you will grow up and become your own person and have the wonderful life you are dreaming of.
1) Do your homework. (seriously--especially Math!)
2) Don't have sex just because you are horny and think you will be together forever (OK, so this doesn't come into play until I was 18, but still..)
3) Spend more time with Grandma T. Maybe see if she'll teach you something crafty; even if crafts are pretty much your Krptonite. (She passed away recently. I wish we had been closer.)
4) Try to spend time with Uncle Louis. He has some AWESOME stories! (And I only ever really heard one of them. He passed away a couple of months after Grandma T.)
5) Pick something and stick with it! Do whatever needs done to keep it. In other words, just practice the darn instrument at home! Or at least make it sound like you are! (My parents would pull me out of band because I didn't practice at home. I learn partially by ear, so I needed the rest of the band to get it right.)
6) Don't be afraid to be the butt of the joke. You already are. (A guy that was park of the "jock" crowd kept asking me out and I thought it was just another way of making me the joke in school. A guy had already been monetarily dared just to ASK me to kiss him. The guy asking me out was a nice guy by himself, but he would always laugh when he asked. Idk if he was being serious or not)
7) College English isn't the same thing as the classes leading up to it. Don't take the class your senior year! And figure out what your real goal is before picking a major for college. (I wanted to be an English Teacher. Then I took College Eng, failed it cuz the teacher was mean and changed my major to Music Ed. Music Ed was NOT where I was supposed to be and God made that very clear. Changed it back to English but failed out of college and now I want to go back for Psychology. And I know that's where I need to be.)
8) Remember that idea about waiting a year to go to college? Maybe you should stick with that idea. (OK, so I met some AMAZING people including my DH, but I really wish I had found work instead)
9) Push your mother! Get everything you need and push her to get your permit. And then push her and your SD to let you drive! Learn places! (I didn't get my license until I was 17 and already living on my own in my Mom's front yard)
10) Get a job as soon as you can! It looks great on a resume. If you can't work, volunteer.
11) The teachers don't secretly like you back. And stay away from other older men. (and ones 3 years younger for that matter lol)
12) Don't stay mad at your dad. Yeah, what he did was incredibly hurtful. But he's still your dad. He will find new ways to refresh your anger, but don't let it build. Just let it go.
13) It's not normal. You may have been around it all your life, but it's not normal. You seriously need to go find spiritual help. Otherwise, it will just get worse. The nightmares are only the beginning.
14) You might want to ask for a re-evaluation of that bipolar test. (lol)
15) Whatever it is, it's not the end of the world.
1,Do not light that cig,40 years from now we will still be hooked. 2.You are just as good as anyone else. 3.Do pay attention in school,it will make college so much easier 4.Watch your smart mouth.Seems the one thing people will never forget about you is that smart mouth. 5.Do not take your family for granted.Friends come and go. 6.You really will see what a jerk he is and you will not die because of his rejection. 7.No those neon green bell bottoms do not look on anyone. 8.Wear the bra,trust me on this. 9.All that makeup really does make you look like a clown. 10.Someday you are going to wish you had spent more time with yourself.Getting to know you is great. 11.It`s true,when one door closes another opens.Get off your butt and look for it. 12.Take care of your health,if you have your health nothing can hold you back. 13.Mom really did know what she was talking about. 14.Take as many pictures as you can,it will amaze you how memory fails. 15 Love yourself because you are worth it.
1. Spend more time with your Grandma, she won't be around forever.
2. You think you're fat? Dream on, wait 20 years! Flaunt it while you have it.
3. Boys are not worth throwing your life away. Stop it.
4. You know that teacher you adore because he's so fun? Well he's trying to get into your pants.
Advice on my defiant teen daughter please!
- Cafe MichelleP
on Jul. 11, 2012 at 11:06 AM