Now that we’re officially past it, it’s okay to discuss it. You know exactly what I am talking about. It’s the time when you hit double digits and speckle briefly to the early teenage years. Let’s take a moment of silence for all the unfortunate haircuts, cracking voices and questionable fashion choices. Although it’s embarrassing to look back at photos and videos, these crucial years helped to shape us into the confident adults that we are now. We owe a thank you to these awkward years.

Thank you to my uncontrollable hair. I mean it! Remember those days where we were forced into the socialization of school and could only focus on how frizzy our hair looks? They were seemingly endless school days that we were expected to pay attention to every jumping subject but couldn’t take our mind off the issue at hand: our hair. Then, with no warning, it would fall completely flat and stick right to your forehead. I know this may sound vain to some but it’s a huge distraction. Thank you for teaching me I can do algebra while hardly being able to see past my uncontrollable mane.

Thank you to braces. At the time of this “awkward phase”, getting braces was actually considered cool! Now, looking back on pictures, not so much. What I thought was a brilliant choice to change out the color of those braces with the changing seasons (ex: green and red for Christmas, orange for Halloween) turned out to be a little too colorful. Nevertheless, I’m sure all of us who have had braces are incredibly thankful. Those two years of awkwardness turned into a lifetime of compliments from dentists, not to mention a perfect smile.

Thank you to my thick glasses. That’s right. I rocked both glasses and braces simultaneously. Although I was born with terrible vision, causing me to wear glasses from an early age, it took me quite a while to finally buckle down and get contacts. So for the first 12 years of my life, I sported the Harry Potter style glasses. Since my eyesight is so poor, my lenses often times doubled the size of my eye. In short, I looked like an owl with red braces. This awkward phase taught me quite a bit. I remember hysterically crying because my glasses held me back from doing sports. I was always getting hit in the face. Finally, this frustration was channeled in a positive way and eventually, it led me to hurdle a fear of mine and get contacts. If we’re being totally honest here, I still never did sports.

Lastly, thank you to all my insecurities. You taught me the most. From the big insecurities that held me back, to the small ones that were just an annoyance. You taught me to never doubt myself. You taught me that those insecurities mean nothing and if you ignore them, they’ll go away. I would not be as confident as I am today without having gone through the awkward stage. I learned that people didn’t even notice them. When I was obsessing over my flat hair, someone was complimenting my highlights. There are many lessons to be learned while going through this time in life. It’s important to remember that this is a commonality for everyone. Thank you to the awkward stage for molding me into who I am today.