According to my birth certificate, I turn 13 this year. Itās 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. Iāve heard people say that your teen years are āthe best and most adventurous years of your life!ā so Iāll definitely let you know how they go. But until then, I thought Iād share some lessons Iāve learned before reaching 13, because itās 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 donāt know me. People always feel the need to drag others down at any given moment. Itās 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 youāre cool in the eyes of people who donāt 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 āCooking with Meā 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 āHave courage and be kindā is basically TATTOOED in your head. If youāre kind to people, it gives you a sense of knowing that you were kind to that person and if they werenāt 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 donāt live fearlessly and have some fun, what are you doing?! Plus, you canāt lay in bed EVERY day. Go watch the sunset, have a picnic, go visit family and jam out to Taylor.
5. Things wonāt always go the way you want and that is OKAY. If things donāt always go your way, maybe itās a sign that something better is going to come along. It might be hard to have faith that something good will happen when youāre so tempted by what you want, but everything works out in the end.
6. Your work wonāt 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 doesnāt mean your work is bad or horrible, just viewed differently. My mom once told me āYou can please some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time.ā Ultimately, you have to respect your work before putting the opinions of others before yours. Donāt get me wrong, a second opinion is always great but you have to learn to respect your opinion.
7. Your mistakes donāt 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 youāve made donāt define the future that you have ahead of you.
8. Command tape is amazing! As I read Taylorās 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 isnāt an ad, I just really love command tape.
9. Get to know yourself. Sometimes we rely on others to help us but itās important that we remember to also do whatās best for us. You have to remember that you are yourself, not anyone else. If you donāt know who you are, maybe take time to figure it out. Just be your authentic self. No one elseās perspective of you should make you change what makes you you.
10. There are fake people out there that donāt want the best for you. Weāve all had our fair share of fake people in our life and they arenāt fun people to deal with. There will always be people out there who will try to change who you are because youāre different. You really have to hold onto knowing that youāre worth it, no matter what people say about you.
11. Listen to new music. I canāt say this enough. Itās always good to get out and explore all of the music out there. I donāt know about you but Iāve 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. Iām inspired each day by those artists not only through their music but also their beautiful personalities.
12. Donāt gossip. Please donāt gossip about other people. As someone who has been the one other people talk bad about, itās 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 itās so āperfectā, itās excusable to gossip about them, is SO wrong. Whatever YOU may be going through also doesnāt excuse being rude to them. Just please donāt gossipā it never ends up well.
13. Spend time with family and friends. As Iām approaching my 13th year of life, Iāve come to realize how valuable each personās 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.
