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A Word With My Teenaged Self

A Word With My Teenaged Self

teenage self

One of my friends posed this interesting question on Facebook the other day: If you could give your younger self two words of advice, what would they be?

That got me thinking – because, baby, two words just wouldn’t do it. I can think of a bunch of things I’d like to tell my teenage self – all good advice and all based on the tidal wave of water that’s gone under my particular bridge since those early days.

I’d say….

    • Don’t worry about what people think of you because most people aren’t thinking about you at all. They’re thinking about themselves – and they’re worrying about what you think of them!

 

    • Don’t fret because Mr. Hot likes someone else. In thirty years, you’ll run into him again and he’ll be Mr. Not So Hot…and he’ll be totally into you. Introduce him to your husband.

 

    • Don’t be angry with your parents for giving you a curfew and insisting on knowing where you are. Your kids will have curfews and you’ll insist on knowing where they are. You will one day hear your parents’ voices coming out of your own mouth. Deal with it.

 

    • Don’t envy the friend with the big boobs whose mum lets her wear piles of makeup and run around with the older boys. Your own mum might just be right when she says: “Bloom fast, rot soonest.”

 

    • Enjoy being sent to bed early. What seems torturous now you’ll remember as heavenly when you have a job, kids and responsibilities. Sleep!

 

    • Problems that seem monumental today will fade so quickly from the picture that you won’t be able to remember them five years, five months, or even five weeks later. Don’t take yourself – or anyone else for that matter – too seriously.

 

    • It’s likely that nothing you think is cool now will still be cool in thirty years. In fact, the only thing that will stand the coolness-test-of-time is your university boyfriend, who’ll later morph into your husband Jamie. Be glad he isn’t a pair of acid-wash jeans – he’s a style that will last.

 

    • Be kind. You have a smart mouth and love to get a laugh but what you don’t know about other people’s lives could fill an ocean. Give people the benefit of the doubt and err on the side of gentleness.

 

    • Enjoy! Life’s a great big pile of fun and though there are some sad times ahead, they’ll be far outweighed by the good days. Anything that’s important now will fade into insignificance when you first lay eyes on your children so have fun, learn lots and grow into the kind of person you want your kids to have as their mother.

 


Is a travel writer with weekly columns in the Toronto Star, various other newspapers and tripatlas.com. She's a thrilled to be a blog contributor, and is inspired by the people she's met through White Oaks.

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