3 Life Mottos For My Teenage Self

It's been a long time since I was a teenager, okay maybe not that long but I've experienced a lot of crazy stuff, the good and the bad. Looking back at all those experiences now, there are things I wish I had known back then. Things I wish someone with a bit more life experience would have told me. I don't suppose that if I knew any of these things back then, my life path would have been a different one or i may have done things differently but I'm quite sure that it would have changed the way I felt along the way. I learned 3 of the things on this list the hard way but I still need to remind myself from time to time, so here it goes. If I had the chance to go back in time and talk to 15 or 7 year old me I wouldn't hesitate. I would go back and teach her/myself all of these things. Don't go being someone you aren't - you are uniquely beautiful just as you are.

 DON'T BE AFRAID TO BE YOURSELF

I know this may seem like the most obvious one of them all because... who are you going to be other than yourself? But let's think about it for a second. Growing up is a journey. A journey of trial and error and figuring out who you really are. Some people might be born knowing exactly who they are and what they want to achieve in life but let's face it, most of us are not. So figuring out who you really are deep down and which values are important to you is the biggest (and hardest) part of growing up. In that process of "figuring it out" you're going to find roadblocks along the way: people who try to change you, people who don't agree with the person you are (or are becoming)... Don't let these people stop you from being exactly who you are. Don't be afraid to be unique, be you. Having said that, don't try to be someone you're not either, copying someone else is not worth it. Because in the end, only being your true self will bring you happiness. 

STOP THINKING "WHEN I CHANGE THIS AND THIS ABOUT MYSELF, ALL WILL BE PERFECT"

I suppose I've always felt that I wasn't good enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough. I mirrored myself to other girls my age who I believed had it all. But you know what? I'm pretty sure that they felt the same way. I would tell my younger self to stop wasting precious time making all those plans for the perfect life and start working on accepting the life you have. Acceptance will make you so much happier because you will learn to see that you are good enough, pretty enough, talented enough and there's no need to change anything.

I always tried to write a diary but ended up failing after a few days then picked it up months later and then failed again after a few days. But there's one thing all my diary entries have in common: plans to change myself/my life. I used to think that when I had this or that, or if i looked or acted a certain way (what does that even mean!?), ... that everything would be perfect.

EXPLORE YOURSELF AND FIND OUT WHAT REALLY MAKES YOU HAPPY

Being yourself and staying true to your values is one thing, and that, in itself, is hard enough. But real happiness also comes from doing something you love on a day to day basis. Having a job, a study or a hobby that is meaningful to you is what will make you intrinsically happy (which is a pretty fancy word to say: from the inside out). So just like you need to figure out which values are important to you, you need to really explore what you like to do, which activities makes you happy, which topics you are interested in and passionate about and which way you want to go for study and jobs. It's never easy to make such important life choices and if you try feeling what makes you happy (instead of knowing what you're supposed to do) you'll be a lot closer to figuring out which way is right for you.

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