Original Content: A Letter To My Teenage Self

Be brave.

Life isn’t about getting everything you want. It’s not about always being right or being the best at everything.

It’s about taking chances, making mistakes, friendships and crushes. Life is about a million little things and moments.

It’s about Friday night football games, sleepovers and movie marathon nights. It’s about first kisses, first loves, breakups and new friendships.

It’s not about knowing who you are but taking the journey to find yourself. It’s about laughing, crying and everything in between.

So, make mistakes, take chances, stay out too late, kiss in the snow, try new things, build bonfires in the winter and trust your instincts.

Don’t let shame or doubt guide you – don’t do something you’re uncomfortable with to please others, their friendship or attention isn’t worth it if it compromises your beliefs.

Go to the movies, have dinner dates, dance in the rain. Go to parties, take road trips, explore the world and all it has to offer.

Mean it when you say no – don’t let other’s pick at your resolve. Saying no isn’t the end of the world. Having your own mind means you’re not a sheep following a flock that partakes in the latest fad for no reason other than to ‘be cool’.

The world won’t implode if you don’t take that cup of vodka – the sun will still come out tomorrow if you don’t take a hit of whatever drug they’re passing around today.

Life is a series of choices and only you know which choices will leave you feeling torn apart inside – which choices will leave you will that drop in your stomach you should only get when dropping from a really high rollercoaster.

Be brave.

Stick to your truth. Be kind even when it’s the last thing you want to be. Parents while at times overbearing – love you for exactly who you are – cut them some slack because even though you think they don’t understand you and they’ll always be there to make up with later – they won’t.

Live for yourself, no one else. Make choices your proud of and live each moment to the fullest because it’s always the things you never tried, the things you never did or said that you regret.

Being brave isn’t easy – it doesn’t mean not making mistakes – mistakes are how we learn – it means believing in yourself and your choices. It means enjoying the little moments – it means not being afraid to live for the moment because tomorrow it may all be gone.