A message to my younger self

Hey girls

 

Have you ever thought back to a time when you made mistakes, to your high school years, to the night where you wish you hadn’t done the things you had? I have. It’s not like a reoccurring thought pattern, however I do at times even have conversations with my friends where we have the “what the fuck were we thinking” chats.

 

Now don’t get me wrong, I know at my young age of 22 I don’t have all the answers, however, if I had the opportunity to pass on some insights to the younger Annie and save her from a few bad decisions, I one thousand percent would.

 

                                                                                                                                                                          

 

You do not need makeup at the ripe age of 13, your skin is beautiful and so are you. Stop masking your true identity and youthful skin with all of those toxins. 

 

Just because your friends are doing it doesn’t mean you need too. High school has too much of a focus on “fitting in” and this often leads us to doing things we really don’t want to do. Listen to your gut! If it feels wrong, it’s because it is. 

 

Gossiping will get you nowhere hunny. It shows the lowest form of intelligence and you know that you are both smarter and better than this. Plus, there is a 99% chance this information will get around and bite you in the ass. 

 

STOP WASTING TIME AND EFFORT ON BOYS. They are just that – boys. There is plenty of time to investigate human anatomy. There is nothing romantic about a 15-year-old male giving you hickies and telling you he loves you. Because he doesn’t, and you don’t love him. You are both too young to understand or appreciate the true meaning of “being in love”. 

 

 

Alcohol has a legal drinking age for a reason. Respect it. 

 

Getting black out drunk at young age isn’t cool. You have no idea the affect alcohol can have you, you have no idea how much you can handle nor do you understand how serious the situations you could potentially get yourself in are. What are you going to do when a boy pushes himself against you and forces himself on you? What are you going to do when you offered more alcohol but are in no state to have anymore? What are you going to do when you are asked to go to a randoms house? What are you going to do when you lose control and your common sense falls out of your head? You are too goddam young to have an understanding of how serious it is to keep your wits about you. You are too young to be having sex with randoms and dishing out blow jobs like candy on Halloween. 

 

People talk, do you really want to be the girl at the top of the gossip list Monday morning back at school? You cannot run away from the decisions you make when your drunk. You can’t remember what you did? Don’t worry, hundreds of people saw it and they will be reminding you. 

 

Drugs are bad, they are not cool. Do not let the internet or movies glamorize something so filthy. 

 

I know you don’t want to hear it, but your parents actually do know best. Believe it or not, they were your age once and probably made similar mistakes too you. They are giving you these insights in the hopes to save you from repeating the bad decisions they made. They don’t want to see history repeat its self, they really are just trying to look out for you. So please, at least take this information on board. 

 

Don’t pick on people, stop finding it amusing to laugh at those who you deem to be beneath you. To put it blankly – its goddam ugly and this will haunt you forever. Put yourself in others shoes and remember the famous words “treat others how you would like to be treated”.

 

Enjoy your youth, stop trying to grow up so fast. Time really does go super quick and before you know it you’re a full-blown adult who would give anything to go back to playing Singstar at sleepovers with her BFFS. So please stop trying to rush the process, your time to wear heels and drink wine will come I promise. 

 

Respect your parents, stop yelling at them and please just say ” I love you ” before leaving the house or going to sleep. You have no idea what could happen tomorrow. 

 

Oh, and your sister is your best friend and always will be. Don’t forget it. 

 

Save your virginity for someone special. You might think that your Mum is being old school when she says this to you, but she’s not. Sex is special and sacred. You should only give it to people who respect you and care about you as an entire being. Drunken sex that you cannot remember at a high school party does not fit in the above criteria. 

 

Learn the definition of rape too. Consent is consent. There are no round a bout rules with this. If you don’t say yes no one should be entering you. And please, for god sake, use some bloody contraception. 

 

Remember who your true friends are. Doing stuff to fit in with the cool kids, isn’t really cool at all. 

 

We think that we are meant to do all of these things to enjoy our youth, to be cool, to be a normal teenager. We think this is what growing up is about. I know your making great memories and some of these mistakes come with great stories. But most of them will come with regret.  They will come with years of torture and years of “trigger” moments. 

 

Please, stop thinking that you have to fit in. This society that we are growing up in glamorize’s everything. These online photo platforms make you believe that it is cool to smoke a cigarette on a rooftop drinking out of a red cup at the age of 15. Its not. 

 

                                                                                                                                                                          

 

I feel sorry for teenagers. They are led to believe that they have to do everything they don’t want to do. If I could save my younger self from the mistakes they kept her up at night, from the decisions that caused serious pain – I would.

 

This is a little different from normal I know, it kind of just feels like a diary entry that needs to be read by others.

 

Love and light

 

A

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