Many of us who read these articles are twentysomethings, and early thirtysomethings, which means we're in our fun-filled college years, or recent (or fairly recent) college graduates starting our professional careers, trying so hard to desperately find our way in life without losing our youth. We're not perfect, nor do we try to be. We make mistakes, lots of mistakes, and, better yet, we're wildly open about them. We know we don't have it all together, but we try to make our lives what we want them to be: adventurous and meaningful and full of memories. So when I came across this quote on Pinterest a few months ago (or, was it Instagram?) it really hit me. Hard. Be who you needed when you were younger.
I don't have any older siblings. As the oldest, I was always the one doing things first: I went to high school first, and college first, and college parties first. I graduated first, entered the real-world first, and came back from it first, going to graduate school first. It would've been helpful for someone to have done all of this before me, so I could've had the advice and guidance I needed for some redirection. Be who you needed when you were younger.
Now, I've been there. I've gone to college, been a high school teacher, come back, am now in my last semester of graduate school, and a high school cheer coach. I'm not saying it was easy, by any means. But I've learned. Now, I can be who I needed when I was younger. I can tell my graduating seniors that living off-campus their freshmen year of college may be one of the worst decisions they can make. I can tell education majors that teaching is different every single day, and that your classroom can take some unpredictable turns at any given time. I can tell undergraduates that networking is the absolute best way to promote yourself and your skills, and that it's essential in your job-searching process. Be who you needed when you were younger.
Be honest: Having a role model, or someone to go to for advice and guidance, would've been awesome in your younger years. You probably wouldn't have gone to that dance with that guy you didn't actually like, or elect to take that class that your adviser told you was definitely worth it, or even order that drink that gave you the worst hangover on the planet the morning after. Now that you've been there, done that, be who you needed when you were younger.
