When most people think of middle school, they describe themselves in one word: awkward. Most people cringe thinking about their glasses, braces, or Facebook posts. While sometimes I do wonder why I thought tennis shoes went with plaid skirts, there are some parts of middle school me that I wish I held onto a little bit longer. Here are three things that I think that me could teach me today.
1. Don't let go of your girl friends.
One of the biggest regrets I have is letting go of friendships that used to be so important to me. Many of them ended without me even realizing it. Old friends slowly faded from my life and were gone before I even realized anything had changed. Middle school me would have never let this happen. She was constantly texting her girl friends, staying over at her girl friends' houses, and eventually becoming a member of other girls' families because she was always with them. After middle school, my priorities shifted, as many people's did going into high school. While I found new friend groups eventually, those friendships never seemed as genuine and easy as the ones that I had in middle school. Friendships back then didn't seem as complicated, and I miss that. I've learned from middle school me the importance of holding onto the easy, loving, sincere friendships that we rarely see as we get older.
2. It's okay to not be the same as everyone else.
As we get older, we often change ourselves to try to fit in with the people around us. Middle school me wasn't so worried about conforming; she was comfortable with who she was (wire glasses and all) and didn't worry about what others thought. However, as I got older, I became more and more aware of the girls who were more popular. As many girls do, I tried to dress like them act like them, and exude their same confidence, while in the process damaging my own. Those other girls looked so happy; they had everything and I thought that if I acted like them, I would somehow become just as happy as they looked.
Going into middle school, I wasn't worried about anyone but myself. Not in a selfish way, but I didn't really take into account what was "cool" or "on trend." Middle school me was quickly broken down, however, by the snide comments and passing glances of other people. Maybe it was just in my head, but maybe not. I felt like I stood out too much because I carried myself differently, so I tried my best to change myself so I could fit in. This is a lesson I still haven't quite learned, but I realize now that it was my choice to let those other people get to me. To fix it, I have to choose the midst of middle school me, who worried only about if I was doing things that made me happy.
3. You don't have to be perfect.
As I got older, I started to grow more and more aware of the expectations other people had of me. I started trying to make everyone else happy, eventually losing sight of what I really wanted for myself. Middle school me wouldn't budge based on the expectations of other people. If she didn't want to do something, she would find a way around it. If something made her unhappy, she would find something to replace it with instead of sticking with it, hoping for the best. While she didn't know it at the time, middle school me knew what she wanted and knew what she deserved, even if those things ultimately weren't what was best for her. She wasn't worried about making mistakes, but instead laughed at herself when she messed up and continued to move forward. This quality is something I need a lot of, especially in college. I often worry that every little thing that I do wrong is disappointing someone, so I drive myself crazy trying to do everything perfectly all of the time. Middle school me reminds me that in the end, it's my own happiness that matters. It's okay to not be perfect because every mistake helps you learn. Mistakes make you a better person, not a more inferior one, and that's a lesson that middle school me knew very well.
While I'm happy with the person I am today, I definitely think I have a thing or two I could learn from myself in middle school. While those years were deservingly cringe-worthy, it's important to realize that you shouldn't just write off those years because you think they were awkward of embarrassing. Middle school me was a pure, unadulterated version of myself, and there are aspects of her that I never, ever want to let go of.
