Childhood is fun, carefree and magical, but we all remember how it felt truly felt and most days didn’t feel magical. They were still fun and carefree sometimes but our younger selves worried about things that later are so insignificant. So if I could go back to my younger self these are the things I would say….
1) Don’t take life too seriously. I remember clearly in PE choosing teams. That was never fun even if you felt you had some ability. I was ‘NOT’ competitive, I was the girl who would laugh at herself for missing a ball. I didn’t take life too seriously at that time and I wish I would’ve stayed that way during my tween & teen years. Somehow as a tween/teen, you become more self-consciuous, insults from the so-called ‘popular’ kids hurt so much more. I wish I had to strength and self-esteem to not be bothered by other people’s words. Later in life, those things don’t matter anymore.
2) Choose your friends wisely. I made some great friend choices and some not so great friend choices. But true friends are the ones who are there for you, lift you up and don’t bring you down. Stay away from the ‘drama’ filled friends and those only concerned with what you can do for them, concerned with being popular, or who don’t treat you with respect. Those aren’t real friends. Later you will see that your ’nerdy’ friends turn out to be the most beautiful, real, successful and grounded people as adults. Cherish those friends.
3) Failing is growing, and making mistakes earlier rather than later will help lead you to success. We’re all so afraid of failing, of messing up and sometimes it prevents us from moving forward. But I wish I would have tried more things that I may have failed at when I was younger instead of avoiding them all together. Being able to learn from mistakes is a powerful tool. Mistakes should help you grow and not hinder growth altogether.
4) Your intuition is something to listen to. I know how easy it is to listen to your heart and not your head sometimes but stop! If it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. Don’t be persuaded by peer pressure or the fear of not looking ‘cool’. It may be hard and you may feel like an outcast but walk away from something that doesn’t feel right.
5) What matters now, won’t matter later - that party you didn’t get invited to, the team you didn’t get picked to be on, or the popular group that dismisses you. It all seems so important and ‘defining’ right now, but it won’t matter later. The feelings you have now are real, don’t dismiss them, but know that everything will turn out okay later as long as you don’t let it crumble you. Life changes and the kids who are popular now, will sometimes try to live in glory days of the past. Often times they revert back to their childhood popularity and never grow up. Your life has more important things ahead of it.
Photos below: Brielle and her friend Charlotte. They let me capture them for 10 minutes in this yummy light. I was thankful.
