what would i advice the 16 year old me?

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was 16. It’s really amazing how time passes by so swift.

I don’t have many regrets and the ones I have I try and disregard because those were the best lessons for me. Everything that I didn't do right and everything that once broke my heart helped me be a better person than who I was.  I am a firm believer that we all need to face both the dark and the brighter sides of life and make some mistakes but there are times I wish I had done things little different. So if I were to advice my 16 year old self these are few things that I would tell myself:

• ·         Age of 16 is one of the most beautiful phases of life. It’s a phase when one is no longer a girl neither a woman but is in between. So it’s an age to embrace the beauty of it and focus on being the best of you.
• ·         Listen to your heart. At this stage there seems to be so many confusions because there are many voices that says different things of what we are to do. Parents have their say, friends have their, teachers say something else and there are many more. It’s not easy to figure out whom to listen to but the best thing would be to take time to understand who you are and what you want to do with your life.
• ·         Respect yourself. People may look down on you because you are young but don’t let anyone look down on you. People will only respect you if you respect yourself so be respectful to yourself and earn respect.
• ·         Enjoy your friendships. Have enough time for friends and family. Have as much fun as you can with the people who genuinely love and care you.  Be careful not be addicted to anyone in particular that you forget others because the person you are prioritizing may not always stand by you. If that happens it’s not their fault because you have the right to choose and no one can impose that on you.
• ·         Everyone makes mistake so don’t beat up yourself for your mistakes. Learn from your mistakes but don’t let them haunt you down.
• ·         You are beautiful no matter what. Beauty is not just about how you look but it lies within in the unseen realm. As far as beauty is concerned there is no bad hair day, you are always beautiful so be confident and proud of who you are.

Well I wrote these for the 16 year old me but I realized that these principles do apply to me even today. I need to be reminded all these over and over again and that’s what I love about writing. It’s always there anytime we need a reminder. We all have bad days once in a while and we always need something to lighten up such days. For me it’s my work (my writings), every time I read I tell myself be proud of who I am and be grateful for the beautiful life I have been blessed with.  It makes me feel good again no matter what I am going through.

Just like I wrote 16 years old me I know I will have many more to write to the present me in future. The fact is that we don’t see  things the way we are suppose to and when we are suppose to. That does not however mean we are not capable of doing so. We just need to take time to understand ourselves and be the best that we can be and not worry about what others think of us.

We all need something to look back to and remind us who we are. 

Your today is going to be your memories tomorrow so make sure you are making good ones.

Love,

Deborah <3