Oh the things you should know 16 year old Erin….

I found this “moment’ on Twitter and it REALLY stuck with me all night.

(I need to preface ALL of this with saying, I had a great childhood. I had nice parents who didn’t hurt me or do drugs. They were hard working folks who loved their community and wanted me to be a good kid.)

That doesn’t mean I didn’t have my share of teenage angst. I was diagnosed at a young age with dyslexia, which was REALLY hard. School was just extra difficult for me and even though I knew I was smarter than most of the kids I went to school with, it took A LOT more effort on my part, to prove it. My parents also divorced when I was young and though it was not my relationship, it still was a hard thing to adjust to, having TWO MORE parents telling me what to do. (Ugh!).

Top that all off with a personality that was just “hyper-sensitive” naturally, and I was a 16 year old mess. EVERY THING made me cry. I wore my heart on my sleeve (still do, just have a few more coping mechanisms as an adult) and my feelings got hurt more times than I care to admit.

So as an adult, I’m curious what I would tell the 16 year old me if given the chance. I think most of all I would tell myself to fail and fail hard. Failure is not a weakness, its a step to success. I would also tell myself what my dad always tells me…don’t let other people’s actions dictate how you should feel. (man, that would have helped a lot as a kid….) Being sensitive is not a bad thing. Being sensitive means you care, and I’d much rather care than be a heartless meanie who makes everyone’s lives around them, miserable.

Lastly, I would tell myself…when you meet those two guys separately, somewhere along your journey….RUN! 😉 They aren’t the one……

What would you tell your 16 year old self?

Erin~