Tuesday 22 September 2015

Dear 15 Year Old me

Second year was a rollercoaster of growing up. I spent half of it in Texas, half of it in Keele
not being able to understand myself, and all of it figuring out who I am, what I want, and who is there to share it with. So after this brilliant summer that rounded off the madness in the most lovely way, I had a look through some old photos and diaries as I decided what to pack to take with me back to Keele tomorrow. On Facebook I have this thing about naming my birthday photo albums after songs, and my one for my 15th is called 'didn't know who I was supposed to be at 15' thanks to the glorious T Swizzle. 15 was a really rough year for me, the only one probably more rough than the 20-21 one, and my diary reflects that. I thought, coming out of the other side of it all, and going into my final year of my undergraduate degree, and finally seeking help for the problems caused for me by that year of 15, I would write a little letter of advice to myself.



Look after yourself, pursue your dreams, be healthy, be happy, be able to look in the mirror and smile. But please, don't forget that there's no point in being a vibrant amazing soul if you have no one to share it with; if a tree falls when no one is around does it make a sound?

Others ought to experience how great you are, and you can help them by being the best version of yourself, so by all means do whatever it takes to reach that. The cliche is that it is lonely at the top, but that doesn't have to be the case. Decide what you want, and never lose that aim, but make sure you have people to share it all with, to support you, and celebrate with you. You don't want to ditch everyone while going for the top job, or while in a new relationship, then having no one around if you get fired, or to be your bridesmaids/groomsmen if the relationship works out.

Having said this; ain't nobody got time for toxic people, so don't be afraid to move on. If a person can't be happy for you at your best, no matter what they're going through, then don't trust them at your worst. Never forget, that JOY = Jesus, Others, You. The two most important commandments are love your God and love your neighbour, then the ten commandments are all about sustaining a relationship with God, while looking after others and yourself. However, you can love your neighbour without living next door to them, or in their pocket. We're all brilliantly different, so of course we'll never all be best friends, but seek to learn how to have a working relationship with every kind of person you'll meet, there's never any point in creating drama, especially if it merely comes from being very different to someone else. 

Don't focus on who you ARE, and get bogged down with who you are going to BE. The fact of the matter is, at least scientifically you're always a human BEING. Even binging on fast food and Netflix you're still being, that's ok, that's great, that's how it is. Let yourself be, whatever happens will happen, but don't worry about that. Keep your personality and 'self' in tact, then you will BE, and it'll be great. 

I'm so excited by the prospect of my third and final year of my undergrad, but also intimidated by it. I feel like this is the final year to figure out how to go about things, which is probably highly untrue as you never stop learning in life, but I'm a worrier and consequently a planner. Writing this little note has helped me organise my approach to this next year, so I can work out the kinks and move on into the big wide world.

Let's do this!
 

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