According to my birth certificate, I turn 13 this year. It’s weird because part of me still feels 4 and a part of me feels 113, but the actual factual age I currently am is 12. I’ve heard people say that your teen years are “the best and most adventurous years of your life!” so I’ll definitely let you know how they go. But until then, I thought I’d share some lessons I’ve learned before reaching 13, because it’s 2020 and the only thing to do is practice social distancing and self isolation.
1. In the wise words of Miss Taylor Swift, I learned not care about the opinions of people who don’t know me. People always feel the need to drag others down at any given moment. It’s hard to not care about things like that, especially when you care about what other people think of you. You have to remind yourself that being yourself and not being liked by everyone is more important than changing yourself so you’re cool in the eyes of people who don’t even really care about you.
2. Cooking is fabulous. Making recipes and trying recipes online is so worth it. I even it took it upon myself to start a series on Instagram called “Cooking with Me” where I cook and bake various dishes while listening to Taylor. Growing up, I cooked with my parents and it was always a really great experience for me. Now I cook and bake, especially right now, more than ever.
3. Never change your ability to have courage and be kind. Watching Cinderella 500 times, the quote “Have courage and be kind” is basically TATTOOED in your head. If you’re kind to people, it gives you a sense of knowing that you were kind to that person and if they weren’t back, you did all that you could.
4. Value each day for what it has to offer. We only have so much time to live and if you don’t live fearlessly and have some fun, what are you doing?! Plus, you can’t lay in bed EVERY day. Go watch the sunset, have a picnic, go visit family and jam out to Taylor.
5. Things won’t always go the way you want and that is OKAY. If things don’t always go your way, maybe it’s a sign that something better is going to come along. It might be hard to have faith that something good will happen when you’re so tempted by what you want, but everything works out in the end.
6. Your work won’t always go recognized. Not everyone is going to look at your work the way you do. Even though you may think something is great, someone else may not. That doesn’t mean your work is bad or horrible, just viewed differently. My mom once told me “You can please some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time.” Ultimately, you have to respect your work before putting the opinions of others before yours. Don’t get me wrong, a second opinion is always great but you have to learn to respect your opinion.
7. Your mistakes don’t define you. I often live life regretting past decisions. You have to remember that life is too short to want to change something that has already happened. Collect yourself and know that past mistakes you’ve made don’t define the future that you have ahead of you.
8. Command tape is amazing! As I read Taylor’s article for Elle, I was amazed at all the things she had written that taught me lessons. One of them was using Command tape. My parents use it all the time but I always used nails and tape. My room was recently repainted so I decided to get the tote of Command tape down. Now I realize how many holes I can prevent from being in my wall. This isn’t an ad, I just really love command tape.
9. Get to know yourself. Sometimes we rely on others to help us but it’s important that we remember to also do what’s best for us. You have to remember that you are yourself, not anyone else. If you don’t know who you are, maybe take time to figure it out. Just be your authentic self. No one else’s perspective of you should make you change what makes you you.
10. There are fake people out there that don’t want the best for you. We’ve all had our fair share of fake people in our life and they aren’t fun people to deal with. There will always be people out there who will try to change who you are because you’re different. You really have to hold onto knowing that you’re worth it, no matter what people say about you.
11. Listen to new music. I can’t say this enough. It’s always good to get out and explore all of the music out there. I don’t know about you but I’ve always had such a special connection with music throughout my life so to have so many artists out there like Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Julia Micheals, Lennon Stella, Maisy Stella, etc. whose music I relate to is incredible. I’m inspired each day by those artists not only through their music but also their beautiful personalities.
12. Don’t gossip. Please don’t gossip about other people. As someone who has been the one other people talk bad about, it’s not fun to hear that someone you thought was your best friend is secretly tearing you down. You never know what someone is going through behind closed doors. To assume their life is perfect and because it’s so “perfect”, it’s excusable to gossip about them, is SO wrong. Whatever YOU may be going through also doesn’t excuse being rude to them. Just please don’t gossip— it never ends up well.
13. Spend time with family and friends. As I’m approaching my 13th year of life, I’ve come to realize how valuable each person’s life really is. You never know how long you get to spend time with someone and I hold that really close to me. Spend time with your loved ones and remember to appreciate their presence in your life.
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