20 Things I Wish I Could Tell My Younger Self

 1. That ex-boyfriend of yours who alwayswanted you to dress up, wear heels, and look sexy for him all the time, isn’tand never will be “the one”. Your future husband will think you look sexy insweats and encourage you to be the realest version of yourself you’ve everbeen.

2. The people who tell you your dreams arecrazy and you should get a real job will still be stuck in the same place theyare 10 years from now. You don’t have to be, so keep pursuing your dreams andnever give up.

 3. Your true friends are the ones who arethere for you, who listen to you and who support you in healing, but don’tenable you to play the victim in your own life. True friends will call you onyour mistakes and empower you to grow.

 4. Giving your power away never ends well.In the moment, taking responsibility might seem like the most painful route,but trust me when I say that taking ownership over the choices you make in lifewill save you from a lot of healing work in the future.

5. If making-out and sex are the onlyactivities you get up to with the guy you have a crush on, he’s not going tomake you his girlfriend. Guys who are in it for more than just physicalinteraction will call to ask how your day was, take you for walks, andintroduce you to their friends. Don’t convince yourself that you can trade sexfor love, it never works that way.

 6. Your brain doesn’t fully develop untilthe age of 24. You’re going to make mistakes, a lot of them. Consider thepossibility though, that your mistakes are actually lessons.

 7. When you are lashing out atsomeone you love, it’s actually because you’re hurting a lot inside and youhave something you want to say but don’t have the courage. Say it anyway. Beclear about what you want, what you don’t want, and what you need. People willrespect you more, and you’ll be a whole lot happier too.

8. You are not invincible. Sleep atleast 7 hours a night, drink water instead of booze at a party, and skip thedrive-thru. Drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes or pulling all nighters everyweekend will eventually catch up to you. It might not happen until your 30’s or40’s, but healing is always more challenging than prevention. Take care ofyourself while you’re young and spare yourself the trouble.

 9. Don’t give up on your talents andhobbies. If you love sports, playing music, or writing, keep doing it. If youask most adults who gave up, they’ll tell you how much they wish they wouldhave continued on with their piano lessons, or followed their hearts andpursued their athletic career.

 10. Failing is winning. This might soundfunny to you now, but believe me when I tell you that all of your failures arelaying out a path for you to succeed big-time. It’s better to fail before youmake it, than to fail when you’ve already made it and lose everything due tolack of experience. And even if you do lose everything, you can make it allback and then some. Life is full of surprises, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

 11. Be consistent. Being flakydoesn’t just impact your relationships, it impacts your self-esteem and anxietylevels. When you say you’re going to do something or be somewhere, followthrough. This also ensures you think twice before committing to something thatdoesn’t actually inspire you.

 12. Practice saying “no” in the mirror.There will be times where you’ll have to tell someone “no” and it will scareyou, but you have to set boundaries for others or you’ll end up feeling used.

 13. It’s no one else’s fault when you’re nothappy. Sure, there may be people in your life who don’t belong there, but it’sup to you get rid of the people who bring you down, call you names or make funof you for dreaming big.

14. Never take nutrition or dating advicefrom Cosmo Magazine. Most of the stories are made up anyways, and the nutritionadvice is just based on corporate sponsorship. If you really want to be healthyor have a good relationship, read books and listen to your intuition.

15. Your intuition is almost alwaysright. If your gut tells you the new guy is bad news, walk away. As you getolder, you’ll come to trust that your gut is your most trusted advisor.

 16. Sometimes your mom is actually right. Itmay be virtually impossible to convince you to take the advice your mom gaveyou over dinner one night, but chances are she learned the hard way. Learningyour own lessons is very important, but feel free to skip and move ahead oncein a while by learning from people who have “been there, done that”.

 17. Don’t rush to grow up. One day, you’regoing to be married, have kids, or comment on how your cat is so lucky thatthey don’t have any responsibility. Just enjoy this time you have to be young,and hopefully care-free.

18. Save your money and never put all of itinto a joint bank acｃount with a boyfriend. Make sure you take care of yourselffirst and have a nest egg set aside just in case there’s an emergency, orchange of heart.

 19. Your natural hair color is and alwayswill be the prettiest. You were made perfect exactly how you are. It’s ok toexperiment, just remember that changing the way you look can never change whoyou are inside, and that is what matters most.

20. Everything is going to be ok. You’regoing to lose people, get your heart-broken, feel alone, and totally depressed.Nothing is ever permanent, so next time you’re wrapped up in thoughts of howawful everything is – visualize the way you want things to be instead.Eventually, the tide will turn and life will be more amazing than you everthought possible.

If you could turn back the clock andgive advice to your younger self, what would it be?

Article Source: http://www.youngandraw.com/20-things-i-wish-i-could-tell-my-younger-self/

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VOCABULARY WORDS:

1. Lashout (v.) ~ attack in speech or writing  

2. Invincible(adj.) ~ incapable of being overcome or defeated  

3. Flaky(adj./ slang) ~ undependable 

4. Intuition(n.) ~ instinctive knowledge or belief  

5. Visualize(v.) ~ to form a mental image  

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:

1. Describeyour younger self.  

2. Whatwere your biggest worries when you were younger?  

3. Whatare the things that you believed in before that you don’t anymore? Whatchanged?