Just another list:
1. Wash your sheets every week, I promise you'll sleep better
2. If a boy breaks your heart, it's okay to cry
3. If a girl breaks your heart, it's okay to cry
4. School is important, but there are many things you can't learn in a classroom. Pursue them
5. Find your passion, and run with it
6. No, you don't need to lose weight
7. You are beautiful without make up
8. You are beautiful with make up
9. Being a good person will never go out of style
10. Buy yourself flowers if you're feeling sad
11. Getting enough sleep is very important
12. Drinking water has so many benefits
13. Believe in fairytales, believe in love, and allow no one to steal your magic
14. Reading is good for the soul
15. I am not here to judge you, but I will always support what I think is best for you
16. I appreciate you
17. I am proud of you
18. Even on your worst days, you will never dissapoint me
19. I love you no matter what
Look at you. You're young. And you're scared. Why are you so scared? Stop being paralyzed. Stop swallowing your words. Stop caring what other people think. Wear what you want. Say what you want. Listen to the music you want to listen to. Play it loud as fuck and dance to it. Go out for a drive at midnight and forget that you have school the next day. Stop waiting for Friday. Live now. Do it now. Take risks. Tell secrets. This life is yours. When are you going to realize that you can do whatever the fuck you want?
1. There's a reason schools teach Shakespeare instead of John Green; you make your own life, it's not written in the stars, waiting to start until you find that person with the perfect smile.
2. People are a hell of a lot smarter than you think. Shut your mouth, stop thinking you know everything and listen.
3. Getting close and being vulnerable is scary as hell, but you know what else it is? Worth it.
4. The moment you feel your happiness being dictated by another person, take a break from them.
5. Take a step back and look around you have more friends than you think.
6. Growing up is going to happen and it's going to be tough. Just stay close to those around you, you're all in it together.
7. If you're still checking their Facebook/Instagram/Tumblr, you're never going to get over them.
8. Everything seems worse at night. Don't fall for it, it's deceiving.
9. Stop avoiding everything. Get out of bed, get dressed, go to school, go to work. It sucks at first but it's part of the healing process.
10. If the person makes you feel like shit and you still go back to them, it's an abusive relationship.
11. Headphones are great, but listen to music aloud every once in a while. Sometimes you need to scream a song so everyone can hear you.
12. Boundaries are a must.
13. You can be a caring person, but you need to be happy with yourself before you try to make others happy.
14. Try and understand other's intentions and situation before you get angry with them.
15. Tough love is necessary sometimes.
16. You can't fix people no matter how hard you try. Get this engrained in your mind.
17. Surround yourself with people who will love and support you.
18. Someone can only hurt your feelings if you allow them to.
19. Listen to your parent's advice.
20. Be open to anything and everything. Life isn't fun when you're a closed book.
21. Talking about your problems is great, but there comes a point when talking about it becomes dwelling on the past and it drains everyone around you. Know when you've hit that point.
22. Some seasons of your life are harder than others. This too shall pass.
"Live your life like you're 80 looking back on your teenager years. You know if your dad calls you at eight in the morning and asks if you want to go out for breakfast. As a teenager you're like no, I want to sleep. But as an eighty year old looking back you have that breakfast with your dad. It just little things like that, that helped me when I was a teenager in terms of making choices you won't regret"
- Taylor Swift.
We don't commit now. We don't see the point. They've always said there are so many fish in the sea, but never before has the sea of fish been right at our fingertips on OkCupid, Tinder, Grindr, Dattch, take your pick. We can order up a human being in the same way we can order up a Pizza at Dominos. We think intimacy lies in a perfectly-executed string of emoji. We think effort is a "good morning" text. We say romance is dead, because maybe it is, but maybe we just need to reinvent it. Maybe romance in our modern age is putting the phone down long enough to look in each other's eyes at dinner. Maybe romance is deleting Tinder off your phone aften an incredible first date with someone. Maybe romance is still there, we just don't know what it looks like now. When we choose - if we commit - we are still one eye wandering at the options. We want the beautiful cut of filet mignon, but we're too busy eyeing the mediocre buffet, because choice. Because choice. Our choices are killing us. We think choice means something. We think opportunity is good. We think the more chances we have, the better. But, it makes everything watered-down. Never mind actually feeling satisfied, we don't even understand what satisfaction looks like, sounds like, feels like. We're one foot out the door, because outside that door is more, more, more. We don't see who's right in front of our eyes asking to be loved, because no one is asking to be loved. We long for something that we still want to believe exists. Yet, we are looking for the next thrill, the next jolt of excitement, the next instant gratification. And, even if we find it. Say we find that person who loves us. Commitment. Intimacy. "I love you". We do it. We find it. Then, quickly, we live it for others. We tell people we're in a relationship on Facebook. We throw our pictures up on Instagram. We become a "we". We make it seem shiny and perfect because what we choose to share is the highlight reel. We don't share the 3am fights, the reddened eyes, the tear-stained bedsheets. We don't write status updates about how their love for us shines a light on where we don't love ourselves. We don't tweet 140 characters of sadness when we're having the kinds of conversations that can make or break the future of our love. This is not what we share. Shiny pictre. Happy couple. Love is perfect.
