Advice to My Teenage Self

My 16 year old self 

While finally reading Taylor Swift's interview in Glamour Magazine they asked her "what advice would you give your younger self?" I started to think about this because I feel as I work daily with my wonderful high schoolers and I feel like I give them all of the advice I wish I was given as a young woman. As I think about what advice I've given them it pretty much falls into the following areas:

1. There are PLENTY of fish in the sea. Many of my students, like my teenage self, put themselves in unhealthy relationships because of that ridiculous fear of being let go or letting someone go. As I learned through many awful break-ups {I think the one that tops the list is the boyfriend who left me waiting at the beach for 2 hours...or the boyfriend who broke up with me via a phone call the night before my Spring trimester finals....or the boyfriend who broke up with me because he thought he was better than me...you know even though he lived at home, didn't have a job, or a college degree....okay okay so there are too many bad Brangelina-esque break-ups to recall} but my point is that I'd tell myself that that break up that you thought was life ending, will just be a bump in your road to something better. So keep on fishing and tell that loser that we are never ever getting back together.

2. Balance is key. For a lot of my young adult hood I studied, volunteered, and worked a lot. I tried hard at everything {well except math class}. I kept this intensity pretty much until the summer before my fourth year of college. Then I realized what am I running myself into the ground for? Yes work hard but personally I don't think getting straight A's or being in every club is worth not experiencing life, making new friends, and getting to know yourself better. So take some time to yourself. Find out your passions and nurture them.

3. Cherish family time. Now being away from home for about 10 years I get really sad when I think about alllll of the family time I'm constantly missing out on. As a teenager I enjoyed spending time with my family but most days I was "too busy" doing other things. I didn't make it as much of a priority as I probably should have. So cherish those moments when your mom is trying to talk to you about your day because when your in your college dorm room with a creaky old bed the night before midterms, trust me the first place you'll dream of being is at your parent's house discussing your day with them. 

+ Some other fab advice...

* Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere and the advice she'd give her high school self.

*Mindy Kaling's advice to teens.

* and Jon Stewart's sage advice to college students.