What I Wish I Could Tell My Middle School Self

To my middle school self,

I know middle school is not fun. It's awkward, gross, smelly, weird, and did I mention awkward. Suddenly it seems like your entire world is boy bands, drama, and trying to find a bra that fits right. I remember when I was you. It feels like a lifetime ago, but trust me, I do remember.

Everything sucks at the moment, and it probably feels like the end of the world, but part of growing up is being able to look back, acknowledge it sucks, and learn from it. That being said though, I can only imagine how much better middle school would have been if I had known these things I know now.

The first thing that you absolutely need to hear is that obsessing over One Direction is a waste of your energy. I know they're cute and you want to marry Louis Tomlinson, but wasting your energy tweeting at them, learning every lyric to every song, and memorizing every creepy fact about them is not going to make them notice you.

I'm not trying to say you shouldn't still like them. Even now, their music slaps. The main take away here is that you should not be spending ALL of your time and energy on stalking them. Just enjoy their music and attractiveness and stop being a creepy One Direction stalker.

Also, please know they're not on Omegle late at night. You really should not be on that website at all, please stop that now before you see too much.

You need to also know that boys in general, are dumb, but especially in middle school. I empathize with you. I know when he broke up with you over text after a week, sorry, a week and a half of dating it shattered your hopes of ever loving again (he was the best hugger after all). However, you just need to know that in the grand scheme of things, these one-week relationships mean absolutely nothing.

Not only do the relationships mean nothing, but everything they say means nothing. Not only are the boys in your school physically maturing slower (as you can tell by the fact that you stand a good 5 inches over many of your classmates), but they are also emotionally far less mature. They still think being mean is going to make you like them and that it's absolutely knee-slappingly funny to tell someone that they're ugly to get a reaction. They're dumb, and you shouldn't give them a second thought.

So, while you're remembering boys are dumb and mean, don't forget that in middle school, the way girls act can also be dumb and mean. I remember when I was you, I would get so sad at the catty things other girls would say. It's important to remember how little it means. Most of the girls are not bad people. They're insecure and taking it out on others. You should never feel lesser because of it. Keep being a nice person. Take everything with a grain of salt, and whatever happens, don't take out your negative feelings in a mean way to anyone else.

Not being mean to anyone else includes not being to yourself. You need to show yourself all of the self-love in the world. You need to take time for yourself. It's not healthy to be spending all of your time plucking your eyebrows, doing your makeup, and the millions of other things you do to fit yourself into a mold of what you think are the most desirable version of yourself.

Give yourself positive affirmations. Remind yourself of the amazing person you are. Don't waste your time comparing yourself to other people. Don't waste your time looking at other girls online trying to figure out what you could do to be "pretty". Tearing yourself down is unhealthy and harmful. The most important this I could ever tell you is to not be mean to yourself.

Here are my final words of wisdom: your world does not begin and end in middle school. This may be bad now because as we've established many times, but can never be emphasized enough, middle school is awkward. But it's only a few short years. After middle school, your life will get on and it's a bright future that you can take in any direction you chose.

Stay strong, future Mrs. Tomlinson. It can only get better from here.