I don’t know about you, but at the age of 16, I was a complete mess. I did not know who I was or who I wanted to be. It was high school…and high school was not my cup of tea. If I could go back and tell myself what to do and what not to do, I would without a second thought. There are so many things that I wish I could preach to my sophomore self and kids of that age right now. It’s such an easy year to get yourself together. You aren’t working your butt off to start off with a perfect GPA and it isn’t time for the college search yet. In my opinion, one article isn’t enough space to give my 16-year-old self the advice I want to give her. But, we will give it a try.

For starters, please do not be worried you will not find your people. I promise you, you will. Your friend group sophomore year, probably won’t be the friend group you’re in senior year (unless you get lucky). You will find your best friends and you will be happy. You will get ready for football games and dances with them. Do not spend so much time worrying about being alone, you will never be alone. Look at you now, you got through high school with only three friends and in my opinion, you turned out pretty well!

Oh and that boy? Please don’t cry over him. Do not waste your time on someone who does not even care to give you a second thought. You are beautiful and you are important. Someone is going to see that someday. Wait for someone who is worth spending your days with because they make you happy. High school boys are gross and they aren’t grown so it will most likely end in disaster (like it did a few times).

You know you can do better and you certainly will do better. We all want our high school sweetheart but sometimes it’s better to focus on the more important things in your life instead of making sure your perfect relationship is staying “perfect.” Life is so much better when you wait until you're ready for commitment.

One more little piece of advice…SCHOOL IS IMPORTANT. There is no time for slacking off. These four years are what leads you on your path to the next four more IMPORTANT years of your life. Do not take it easy on yourself until you know it is the right time to. You have so much potential to succeed and with a little push, you would kill it. I know you tried your hardest so far but there was always room for improvement. It’s a good thing you’re making college your priority now and might I added you are totally KILLING it. School is always going to be something that will play a huge role in determining your future.

Overall, you made it through.

I think that you turned into an amazing person.

At the end of the day, as long as you made the day the best you could, you should go to bed with a smile on your face. Life is not a walk in the park…but it is what you make of it. Treat every day like it is your last day. Strive to be the best you can be and never let that go. The ones who see you reaching your potential and succeeding will stick around and be apart of your journey. You are who you are and you are amazing.