In honor of me turning 17 tomorrow :)
17 Things I Learned Before 17:
1. You have to accept yourself for who you are, flaws and
all.
You know the saying "you can be the ripest, juiciest peach in
the world, but there will always be someone out there that
hates peaches." You can’t control the fact that your
personality, looks, interests, etc. won’t always be
appreciated by others however you should never change to please
anyone. If they can’t accept you for who you are, they
aren’t worth your time.
2. Do NOT be afraid to tell people how you feel.
Most of my life, I could never tell people how I feel because I
always thought it was a sign of weakness but boy was I wrong.
Please don't be afraid to tell your family, or someone you
really trust, how you feel because I promise they will help you
through it.
3. School is important but it's not the most important
thing.
I put everything before my mental health and that's where I
dropped the ball. In retrospect, StuCo and all the other things
was not nearly as important as sleep and especially my mental
health. At least I can say I hit that 2007 Britney Spears
psychological breakdown and I got right back up. It's time to
let up and give yourself a well-deserved break from all
negative stressors.
4. Sometimes, it's okay to fail.
Dear God, this one is really hard because this so isn't me (but
should be), if something doesn't achieve your expectations,
just reach for the highest you can reach and try to be
satisfied. Life doesn’t call for perfection, and the journey
of the reach is more important than however high you
reach. Although I cannot do this yet, I'm learning to.
5. Know your worth.
Don't ever let someone's perspective of you change anything.
You obviously brought something to the table if someone asked
you to do something. Think about it this way, would you rather
have 10% from an extraordinary person or 100% from an ordinary
person?
6. Know exactly what you want and believe its achievable.
Dream big, the bigger the better. #guerrero2052
7. Don't take life so seriously.
I still haven't grasped this concept either but seriously,
don't take life so seriously. All the clothes, the cars, the
money, the achievements, you can't take that stuff with you
when you die, so carpe diem.
8. Make them listen.
If you want something done, but other people have doubts about
it, do it anyway. Prove them wrong. Show them exactly what you
can do.
9. Rock bottom is a real thing.
You will have moments of unbearable pain. It takes time to
learn how to heal yourself. And healing sometimes still
leaves scars. Healing is sometimes incomplete. Think of
your scars as battle-wounds – evidence of how much wiser you
are now- maps of where not to return. Cherish these scars and
honor them. There will come times when they are the only
reminder of where you have been, and how much you still need to
grow.
10. Cherish every single moment.
There's 86,400 seconds in a day. My inner introvert tells me I
don't want to see most family members and you're going to
cringe at the thought of family gatherings and you'll do
whatever you can to avoid having to socialize. Please stop.
Don't be so scared, they're your family, they're forced to love
you.
11. You won't always get what you want.
This year, I lost Southern Rep, I didn't get Mid Level JC, and
I didn't get into Nationals. It's cool because everything
happens for a reason and if it wasn't meant to be, then it
wasn't meant to be, there's really no need to sweat it.
12. No one is better than you.
Its completely fine to know that you're better than someone and
to not be afraid to say it.
13. Don't ever complain without offering a solution.
14. You're going to have highs and lows, find your
midpoint.
15. God is good.
16. Life is NOT a race, it's a road trip, so don't be afraid to
stop and enjoy the view.
Never ever fail to look and seek the beauty around you: the way
your mother braves a smile regardless of previous events, the
warmth of your siblings, the strength of your father, the slow,
but steady sunrise and sunset, the way birds fly, and the way
the wind whistles. God made all things beautiful, including
you, and the most wonderful thing about life, but often the
most forgotten, is to look around you and soak it all in.
17. Don't be so hard on yourself.
I'm still learning how to do this but you are human. You are
allowed to make mistakes and then you learn from them. If you
fail, it's cool, get back up and you'll do better next time.
"Do things that feed your soul, not your ego, and you will be
happy."