Hello beautiful readers,
I'm starting a new series dedicated to High School. I'll
be sharing tips on beauty (makeup, hair, skincare), outfit suggestions,
personal advice, and much more every once in a while. This was inspired by my younger sister, Mina.
Seeing her enter high school has brought me back seven years ago when I had
began my freshman year at the same high school. There's so many things I wish I
would have done differently now that I think about it. For one, I wouldn't have
wore black eyeliner as the only makeup and only on my waterline. I also would
have applied to internships earlier and volunteered at one organization I was
super passionate about rather than ten random ones I didn't care about.
I loved my high school years, but I probably wouldn't go
back to them. They were fun, but college is way more fun. High school is also
just a time of growth for everyone. You learn so much about yourself and so
many life lessons take place. If I could go back in time, I have a few things I
would tell my freshman year self.
Thus, this first post in this series is going to be 15 pieces of advice I would tell my 15 year old self:
- Don’t get caught up in every trend. In 5 years, you're going to laugh at the things you do right now. Styles and trends change so much. I look back to Silly Bands and Florescent colored jeans and laugh at how obsessed I was with those things. Just goes to show that every trend comes and goes.
- Mom is really always right. I know it sucks to hear, and everyone always says it because it’s true. All the friends my mom warned me about turned out to be people I grew away from naturally. Everything my mom advised me to do ended up being for the best. Now, looking back on it, I wish I had listened to her from the beginning and that if I didn’t agree; I would have communicated that from the start.
- Be choosy with your friends. Your friends either make you or break you. They also influence a lot of decisions you’ll me making. I had friends who I could never imagine making some of the decisions I made in front of. Make sure your friends are the type of people you’d be okay being like. It’s okay to lose people along the way. You’re going to be growing so much. If you find major disagreements within people it’s okay to let them go and find people who you’re more comfortable with. It’s better to let go of people than to have them drag you down.
- Be thankful. Show more gratitude. You have a roof over your head, a closet full of clothes, a overly stocked fridge, and parents that care for you more than anything. Be thankful for these things. Your immigrant parents sacrificed a lot to bring you to a land that is safe and filled with opportunity for you. You’ll be allowed to drive in a few years, get a job, and not need a male guardian to usher you everywhere. Be thankful for this. Not everyone has these things. Look at what you have rather than focusing on the few things you don’t have, and give thanks. It’ll keep you so much happier.
- If you make a mistake, it’s okay. These are the years to
make mistakes. You’re not a kid anymore, but you’re also not an adult yet. Just
make sure to learn from your mistakes and to not repeat them. Think about who
you want to be in the future. Have a little idea of it at least. Write down
your goals – professional, spiritual, careers. This will only help you on your
way to the next years. I wish I had given more time to sit down and really
think about this stuff.
- Be brave. Do things that scare you every chance you get. Public speaking, a new sport, writing, speaking up, a hard class, being bold. Do it. It’ll not only show you that you’re capable to anything but it’ll stretch you to your limits. You’re capable of everything and anything you set your mind to.
- This is the time where you start becoming your own person. Make sure the habits you’re keeping are ones you want sticking around for the rest of your life. I learned to procrastinate and work under pressure when I was in high school. Now, I find easy tasks way harder to finish then big ones with a timeline crunch.
- Don’t ever chase a boy. You’re a princess. The right boy will not have to be chased. He will not play games. He will respect you and your time. If he makes you question where you stand in his life, leave him. There’s so many great fish in the sea, don’t be stuck in the pond next door. Also, no teenage boy is serious. Every couple that started dating before 17 is broken up by now. Now is not the time for serious romantic relationships, now is the time to build the foundation for your future and be a kid.
- Travel more. Travel around your suburban city, talk to the
homeless and take care of them. Travel around your state, visit your capital,
seek out issues you’re passionate about and voice your opinions. Travel around
the nation, meet different people, explore different types of nature, make a
list of all the states you’ve been to and one’s you’d love to go to. Travel
around the world, become thankful for what you have that others would love to
have, discover similarities between your language/culture and others, visit
famous sites and take in the beauty of this world.
- Learn a skill (or two) and become really good at it! I loved creative skills like photography, graphic design, and art. I followed YouTube tutorials on a lot of digital art stuff. The more tutorials you do the better you’ll get at it. You’ll have a huge step up when you have a solid skill down that’s actually of use to people. I got my first corporate internship at only 17 because I showed up with a portfolio of my graphic design projects and no one else had one.
- Don’t ever be friends with someone that talks bad about your mutual friends. If someone can talk bad about someone they’re also best friends with, they’re probably talking bad about you too. When you notice this, run (don’t walk) away from them as fast as you can.
- Be kind to your parents. They’ll be by your side when no one else is. When you’ve had the worst day ever, had your heart broken, or made the worst mistake, they’ll be there and they’ll be on your side. As you’re getting older, so are they. Tak to them, learn with them, and hang out with them while you still have the time. Be kind to them and try to see things from their side.
- Be your own person. I know it’s easier to conform, but it’s so much more fun to be who you really are. You’ll save yourself a lot of confusion and sadness. Wear red lipstick when you want to and cut your hair short and listen to the music only you vibe with. Do you, be you.
- Try your best, and that will be enough. I was a straight A student, who played sports, held leadership positions, worked, interned, and volunteered, got a great SAT score, and I was still so scared I wouldn’t get into any colleges. If you try your best, you’ll get good results.
- If you’re a good person, good things will happen to you. Karma is real. Don’t ever hurt anyone intentionally, don’t fib, don’t brag, don’t take what’s not yours to take, give people their rights, be a damn good person.
I probably have a few more things I'd tell younger me too, but what would you share with your younger self? What do you think is the most important point on this list? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
xo,
Aani
So helpful!
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