"But in life you'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team, but I didn't know it at 15."
Taylor Swift couldn't of said it better, granted she has a song for anything that could possibly go wrong in life but "Fifteen" is just too relatable. If there's anything I have learned from graduating high school and moving onto the next phase of my life, it's that high school was made to be way to big of a deal. To all my girls going through it now, I can promise that whatever you're going through isn't the end of the world. I know it feels like it is, I've been there. I've begged my mom to let me leave early because I couldn't deal with the drama that day, I've walked into that big lunch room feeling like I have nowhere to turn, I've had my heart broken by that boy we swear at the time is "the one", i get it. My mother has taught me a very important lesson; give yourself the night to be sad, cry, scream, whatever you need, but wake up the next day and move on. It's a new day and you can either choose to be sad or you can choose to be happy. I asked some of my best girls what they would go back and tell their 15 year old self and the words they said were so good that I'm going to share it with you all.
You will survive that breakup. Oh man, that end of your world break up you never think you're going to get past, you will. It sounds cliche but time really does heal all wounds. That pit in your stomach starts to go away and with each passing day you realize who you are and how much you're worth until one day you wake up and it just doesn't hurt anymore. Remember the key words of Tiffani Thompson (my mother), you choose to be happy or you choose to be sad. Choose happy.
Quality over Quantity. At 15, you think you have to be friends with everyone in the world. Even if in your heart you know they're not the kind of people you should surround yourself with, you do anyways because it feel's nice to be included. Y'all, don't surround yourself with bad people. If I could go back a few years and tell myself one thing it would be that. Stop trying to make friendships with the wrong people, I could of saved myself from a lot of bad situations if I would of just relaxed and stopped feeling like I had to be doing something 24/7 or I wasn't "cool." Your true friends will come, I know mine did. Be patient and don't lower your standards just to fit in.
Be nice without expecting it back. You will go through life constantly hurt if you believe everyone has the same heart as you. Girls, being mean shouldn't be a trend. There is no reason to ever intentionally make someone feel bad about themselves, and you will look back a few years later and regret the way you treated someone. "Be the type of person that makes everyone they come across feel perfectly okay with being exactly who they are." Strive every day to go out of your way to compliment someone because everyone could use a pick me up. You just might tell someone exactly what they needed to hear at the right time. Be a good person, it takes a lot more effort to be mean than it does to be nice.
Be strong, be courageous and be a little wild. No, I don't mean go out and make poor decisions you'll regret in the morning, I just mean that you do need to live a little or college will be a very scary place for you. High school seems like the end of the world, but it's really just the beginning. I've learned so much but I still have such a long way to go. To my girls, it's all going to be okay.
"I've found time can heal most anything, and you just might find who you're supposed to be, I didn't know who I was supposed to be, at 15."
With love,
Taylor Thompson