Thursday 6 June 2013

Dear 16 year old me

So I've just finished reading this book and found parts of it quite interesting. I have to be honest that i didn't fully know who all of them were but on the whole i recognised their names.



Basically in this book famous people write letters to their 16 year old selves giving them tips on life, what the future holds and things to look out for.

It really got me thinking what i would tell my 16 year old self. I'm only 22 so not that old but i feel like I've grown up quite a lot (not like i feel so sensible no but more the way i look at life and the things i find important now).

Also my sister is 16 and i find her saying things and i realise how different i think now and i find it hard to stress my point about things not to worry about, but we've all been there and think no one else has been 16 and life is so tough!

So i thought i'd share with you my top 5 things I'd say to the younger me, it would be great if you could add more things below or feel free to do this post on your blog :)

1. Don't worry about what people think about you - obviously this is hard to believe when you're 16, it's all about what people think and who's friends with who and what gossip happened at this weekends party. I wouldn't say i worried so much but now there are only a handful of people i still speak to from school and it's pointless wasting time on thinking about people's opinions that you won't ever see again.


Pinned Image

2. Don't stress too much about exams - i was a  real stress head and when you're at school it's drummed into you that your GCSE's, A-Levels and University are the most important things in life. They're not! My sisters currently stressing over her exams and i try telling her that now, 6 years on i cannot remember ANYTHING about geography, physics or most subjects really. I've never needed any of that information yet at the time we were taught that we needed to know everything down to how many people died in a certain earthquake. Why?! I never went to uni either because it just wasn't for me - and once most teachers knew that they kind of abandoned me which is silly really because I'm glad i didn't follow the crowd and end up doing something i regretted with a debt.

3. You will learn to understand boys more - OK to relationships are the most talked about/stressed over/cried over/argued over subject that happens in school. Then you leave school and open your eyes and learn that school was a minute part of the world. I met Glen when i was 16 (which is so scary to think i was my sisters age) and we didn't go to the same school, which i am glad for. Sometimes you have to follow your instincts and do as your heart says no matter what anyone else thinks/says. You know best. I'd like to tell any 16 year olds to not rush things with boys, when you're older it DOESN'T MATTER how old you were when you had your first kiss or sex or how many boyfriends you have. Boys will always be complicated and equally the opposite sex won't understand how each others brain works but things get slightly clearer as you get older.

4. Be grateful for your loved ones - when you're younger it's all about going to parties with friends and then you grow up and realise that loved ones won't be around for ever and neither will your friends so make the most of the loved ones because they will be the ones who have no choice to leave you; especially the older ones. You can't bring anyone back once they've passed away and no one should regret not spending time or getting to know them better. I bought my Grandad 'Dear Grandad, From You to Me' and i am SO SO glad! Basically it asks him loads of questions about his life from when he was a child right up to now. It means i have this forever so that i can re-read it and get to know him and make his memories live on. I urge anyone and everyone to get this book or one similar for family members so you never regret not knowing something!


Pinned Image

5. Don't worry about the future so much - things will work themselves out. I am so so bad at doing this, well i used to be, I'm not so bad now but i used to come up with ridiculous scenarios in my head about what could happen (though very very unlikely) and I'd work myself into such a state. I don't know how i got through it but I've convinced myself not to worry or think so much about the future because some things are inevitable and you just have to ride the rough with the smooth. I also realised i wasn't living in the moment or enjoying the most of life. I now do and i think this may be because i think each day of things i am grateful for - it makes me focus on the positive things in life.

So there we go, phew! Those were my 5 main ones, I'm hoping to write them all up so that i can look back on them one day or give them to my children or niece's if i ever have any. I hope you've enjoyed this different kind of post today :) Let me know.


Oh and Lauren, keep hold of any nail polishes you have! You'll be needing those :)


Pinned Image
(link)

xx

4 comments:

  1. This looks like a really good book, being 16 is such a hard age.

    P.xx
    greywalls94.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds a god book,I think most people would look back and tell themselves not to worry about what people think, as being 16 the most important thing was being 'cool' but now we look back and think I wasted so much time trying to fit in! Xx

    1stepclosereveryday.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  3. Such a cute post! The book sounds really interesting, I'll have a look for it next time I'm out shopping:) x
    graciousghost.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a really good post (following your blog now!). It's funny how a lot of us wish we could tell our sixteen year old selves the same kind of things. My little sisters are at the age I met my other half eight years ago and there's so many little pieces of wisdom I want to share with them now that they turn 16 in September.

    http://dibdabdebs.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete