When I was 16, I thought I was the shit. Nothing could touch me when I was driving with my learners permit with the windows down and my BFFs in the backseat because my mom was riding shotgun. I was knocked off my pedestal in the blink of an eye. Three years later I have learned so much more, and I still know I have more to learn. The following 16 things that I wish I knew at 16 could have saved me a lot of trouble if I had known them three years ago.
1. Life will never go the way you expect
Don't feel like you need to plan every second of your life, it won't go that way any way. Disappointments happen often, they're unavoidable and you'll get over it. Life will move on.
2. Stop comparing yourself to other girls
There will always be another girl prettier, smarter, cooler, and more popular than you, and it doesn’t matter one bit, you still rock. Stalking another girl's profile on Facebook won’t make you prettier, smarter, cooler, or more popular. You’re pretty enough, smart enough, cool enough, and popular enough already.
3. It's cool to be close to your parents
You might feel like they don’t know what they’re doing, but they do, and trust me, you don’t. Trust them when they say that they love you and they want what’s best for you, it’s true.
4. It's ok not to know your life plan
Like I said before, life won’t go the way you expect anyway. A lot of people might seem like they know everything already but honestly, they don’t, so it’s ok that you don’t either. You have your whole life to figure everything out, take your time.
5. It's ok to be yourself
You’re weird and young and that’s fine. Don’t try to change yourself to fit in, embrace all of your goofy quirks, they make you, you and like I’ve told you, you rock.
6. It's ok to cry![]()
Crying is not a weakness, let me repeat that, crying is not a weakness. Life sucks sometimes and you deserve to cry over it. If people judge you for crying they aren’t worth your time.
7. Mental health days are important
High school is the most stressful time of your life yet, don't down play it. Perfect attendance is overrated and if you stay up until 3 a.m. studying for a test and writing a paper and finishing a project you deserve to spend the next day in your bed with your dog and Netflix.
8. Stop judging your peers![]()
Everyone is struggling to deal with high school stress and figuring out who they want to be, just like you. Don't judge them for the sweatpants that they wore on Monday or the crop top that they wore on Tuesday. Don't judge someone for being too smart or not smart enough, or for going to this party and not that one. Judging them is a waste of your energy, give your peers a break.
9. Do what's best for you
Sometimes you have to put yourself before others and not worry about letting other people down, your own mental health is more important than the feelings of your friends.
10. It's ok to stay in some weekends
There will be another party the next weekend, another day to go out to dinner, and another day to go out on dates. Let go of your FOMO and stay in every once in a while. It's ok to stay in, watch a movie, and go to bed early after a long week.
11. Don't rely on anyone else for your happiness
Choosing to be independently happy is the hardest thing to learn in life, but the best thing to learn early on. You don't need an invitation to the best party or a boyfriend on the basketball team to be happy. Find something everyday that makes your day more positive, no matter how small or large; choose to be happy because of it.
12. Those who hurt you don't define you![]()
Whether it was a bad friend or a bad boyfriend that broke your heart, you'll heal. They have never and will never define whom you are or who you are going to be, try your best to let it go.
13. Change is good
Change is good, inevitable, and frequent at 16; learn to love it. Sometimes when things change it's hard to see the bright side in it, but I promise, it exists. Something good comes out of everything that changes in your life.
14. You don't need math as much as they say you do![]()
Unless you're majoring in math (which god help 16-year-old me I hope you aren't) you won't need the unit circle so don't stay up too late memorizing it.
15. Don't grow up too fast
Just because you know how to drive and you have free periods at school doesn't mean you're suddenly an adult, which is a good thing. You only have so much time left to be a kid, don't waste it.
16. Everything will be ok![]()
Last but not least, don't sweat the small stuff. I know it's cheesy but soon enough time will go on and you'll see that everything works out the way that it's supposed to, even though it doesn't seem like it will.
