Sometimes, it feels like we were there yesterday. Other times, it feels like it was another life, another person living our lives. The freshmen year of high school—Taylor Swift sang about the struggling adolescent years in her song, Fifteen, and she nailed it when she said, “This is life before you know you you’re gonna be.” I think that we all have our share of mistakes and embarrassing stories we could share from this time in our lives, the time when we didn’t yet know who we were and who we could be.

I asked 15 of the wisest women I know to contribute, “One piece of advice you’d give yourself at 15.” Here’s what these women came up with:

1. Find purpose and love from God and the people around you. Your purpose doesn’t have to come from the boys around you. You are worth more than you can fathom, really.

2. Stop worrying because everything will be fine. You’re beautiful and will become EVEN MORE beautiful and also the world isn’t ending, everything bad makes you stronger. Also, you don’t know jack shit, so please have an open mind.

3. Surround yourself with people who love you and accept you for who you are and not people who will use you or exploit you.

4. Don’t let yourself get caught up in the lies and drama that other people create, because in the long run, those people lose.

5. Don’t try to change yourself to make people—especially guys—like you. You’re made in the image of God, for a UNIQUE purpose. And at that, unique doesn’t make you bad. Please be yourself without worrying about fitting into a mold.

6. Be kind to everyone, no matter the circumstance. All people come from different situations and just because they may not like the same things as you or look differently from you, they all deserve your respect and kindness.

7. Hard times will come, but you must never give up on your dream because you will achieve it. You are stronger than you could ever realize and more intelligent than you know.

8. Don’t worry if you’re not doing what everyone else is doing-just do what makes you happy. Also, stop worrying what other people think and be friends with those you actually like. Embrace your individuality.

9. Seriously do not worry about what other think of you! Be confident in your Faith and in yourself. Your classmates need you to be bold and stand up for what you believe in!

10. Listen to your teachers. And your coaches and mentors. They seriously know what’s up. You don’t know everything!

11. The world is much bigger than you think it is, and you’re not the center of it. Allow yourself to experience the world before making up your mind.

12. Drink chocolate milk while you can. Embrace silly school traditions. Cheer for your small town team.

13. Live with gratitude and kindness. Don’t leave without saying thank you to all of the people that inspired you.

14. It’s okay if you don’t love yourself every day, but don’t focus on the negative things. Find ways to embrace the things that make you unique.

15. Try to leave every place better than how you found it. You don’t have to make a huge imprint on the world, but you can make a difference in your little place in the world.

Many of these women had similar pieces of advice, but many were also very different in their own unique ways. It is really cool to know that we all messed up in high school. That’s no question. But, everyone came out stronger. So to the fifteen year old’s reading this: don’t be too hard on yourself! And to the rest, just know that we’re going to keep learning for the rest of our lives and these pieces of advice are just as applicable to us!