Tuesday, August 23, 2016

An Open Letter to My 14 Year Old Self upon Entering High School

I started a little series a while back called “The Lowdown on Lindsay” where I could tell you guys a little bit more about myself so you could get to know the girl behind the blog.  I’ve neglected it for so long that you probably don’t even remember it, but I thought that today’s Show and Tell Tuesday link-up topic on Momfessionals was the perfect subject to get back into it. 

High school for me was basically… Do I look dorky in this shirt?  Why do I look so awkward in everything I wear?  Ugh, why does my body look like that of a 12 year old boy’s?  Will I find a date for prom?  Why doesn’t <insert current boy obsession’s name here> like me back?  Am I going to pass physics?  Am I going to get into my college of choice?  Will I do well enough to eventually get a good job?  What do I even want to be when I grow up?  Am I ever going to meet the man of my dreams?  Will I ever get married?  Have babies?  The list of worries was never-ending…

On the way to our big rival football game, junior year

Right after I started driving, junior year

While it was also a hugely fun time for me, high school was a time that was filled to the brim with uncertainty.  I was not one of those girls who had the designer clothes and the means to escape the inevitable awkward phase that plagues so many of us.  I did not have the confidence that some girls had, and I certainly didn’t feel like I had the world on a string as so many of my classmates seemed to.  I did like myself, I did have a great group of friends, and I did have a lot of fun.  But bottom line, high school was filled with uncertainty. 

And I have never liked uncertainty.  

Seniors!

Seniors!


I’m now all grown up and I have a dreamboat husband whom I’m still in love with after almost nine years of marriage.  I have two smart, kind, gorgeous, and hilarious children whom I love more than life itself.  I have a good job.  I have amazing friends.  All of us are healthy.  I have a beautiful house, food on my table, clothes on my back.  I guess you could say that I have everything that I’ve ever wanted.  Life took me on the path that I’ve always wanted to travel, and I’ve learned a lot along the way (as most of us have).  If I could go back in time and say a few things to myself upon entering high school I definitely would, and they would be…

Junior high was the worst… the hardest part is over.

Don’t be afraid of those girls who were so M-E-A-N in junior high.  High school will be much better so there’s no need to live in constant fear that the harmony is going to end at any second.  These girlfriends of yours will be lifelong friends... you will still be hanging out with them in 2016, drinking margaritas or wine, and talking about the latest crazy thing that your children have done.

Heading out to dinner, senior year

Partying, beginning of senior year




Immerse yourself in high school life and make as many memories as you can because it will be over in the blink of an eye.

You and your friends will be pretty good at doing this, but looking back, you will still feel like there’s more you could have done.  There will be a few events over the years that you will skip out on, and then you will feel like if you could do it all over again, you wouldn’t miss a one of them.  So don’t.  

One of our many parties or senior year, just before graduation


Don’t be so self-conscious and don’t care so much about what other people think.

Who cares if you’re not wearing the most popular jeans?  Who cares if you slipped and almost fell on your face in the hallway?  Who cares if you got halfway through your speech in English class and forgot the words?  Nobody is going to remember that at your 10 year high school reunion anyway, and if for some reason they do, chances are you’ll be feeling fab and looking like a million bucks so you’ll laugh about it with them.  And you will truly be comfortable doing that because you will have finally gained the confidence that you were lacking in high school.

Everyone makes mistakes and most people are insecure about something, so in the words of T-Swizz, shake it off. 

10 Year High School Reunion - 2010

10 Year High School Reunion - 2010

10 Year High School Reunion - 2010
 
You’ll meet your dream husband someday, but he’s not here.  Don’t waste time on long-term relationships with guys who you don’t really want to be with anyway.

Don’t be so boy crazy.  There’s no need to always be on the quest to find your future husband because you’re not going to end up alone like you fear.  This is totally unnecessary to worry about at the tender age of 17.  Don’t date that same guy for the majority of your senior year because you will end up missing out on some fun things because of it.  Sure, it will be nice to have a built-in date for the prom, but it will also be fun to date around and get to know other guys.  No need to be so serious at such a young age… especially when you don’t see forever with him in the first place.  

Baccalaureate before graduation, senior year


Spoiler alert – everything turns out OK!  Please stop worrying so much and for heaven’s sake, please stop taking everything so seriously. 

Let go and have fun, don’t fuss so much over grades.  Yes, they’re important, but they’re not going to dictate how you spend the rest of your life.  High school is not really that big of a deal in the scheme of life and nobody is going to judge you for who you were back then.  Who cares if you get one C on a test?  It’s not going to cost you a future job.  Who cares if you can’t find a date to the school dance?  It’s not going to mean that you’re going to die an old maid.  Go with your girlfriends… you’ll have more fun with them anyway.  

High School Graduation - C/O 2000!!!!


Bottom line, everything in your life is going to work out in good timing, so just be yourself.  Feel free.  Enjoy this time where you’re not tied up with a job and bills and other life responsibilities and commitments.  Soak up the little moments that you’ll never get a chance to have again.  Ride around with your girlfriends with the windows down and sing at the top of your lungs.  Meet for coffee and donuts before class.  Act like a total goofball and have no regrets. 

And for Pete’s sake, please go ahead and start plucking your eye brows and highlighting your hair… it will suit you much better.  ;o)

Disclaimer – I’m still friends with a lot of these girls and I know some of them read my blog, so ladies, if you're reading, please don’t ban me from Margarita Night for posting these pictures!  Haha.

*Linking up with Momfessionals for Show and Tell Tuesday, Our Pretty Little Girls for Tuesday Talk and Simply Every.


21 comments:

  1. Love this post! I would have loved to given this exact letter to myself in high school!

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  2. Yes! I love everything about this and wish I had taken all of that advice when I was in high school. If only we had the knowledge then that we do now. :)

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  3. Yes! Wish I could tell myself so many of the same things. It was so nice not having bills, a career, etc and I wish I hadn't taken it for granted like the ability to spend every weekend goofing off with friends.

    My ten year reunion is next year and I still don't know if I'm going. I was very shy in school and just hung out with a few people whom I still see regularly. Not sure if I want to see the other people because I didn't really talk to many other people. :-P

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    1. You should go! I went to mine and ended up having a BLAST with a ton of people that I didn't really even hang out with back then. It was actually really great!

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  4. I love this so much! High school was alot of fun for me but there are tons of things I would go back and change! And you're so right about boys, although Rick is technically my HS sweetheart but I did break up with him my senior year so I could have fun, LOL!!

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  5. Yes, yes to all of this. Oh friend H.S. was so similar and such a waste for me. I pray, pray, PRAY those years go so differently for my girls.

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  6. I loved this! It sounds like you had a great time in high school! I had an awesome high school experience, too! But boy, the things I would tell myself knowing what I know now... ha! Knowing me, I probably wouldn't have listened to myself, I would've been all, "talk to the hand!" LOL!!

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  7. I graduated high school the same year you did! I would tell myself all these things, too! I remember high school being a time of busy and wrought with awkwardness, a desire to find myself and my way, but also tons of internal pressure to succeed and "get it all right". Much of that prevailed during my undergraduate years, along with some not-so-great events, but eventually I made it out and through to the other side. Today, I'm happy, don't stress as much as I once did and certainly love the life I have today! In fact, I believe things are much 'better' now, too!! :)

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    1. Yay for C/O 2000! That was such a big deal, do you remember that?! I can remember our teachers telling us in 3rd grade how special we were because we were going to be the class of the new millennium! So cool.

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  8. haha, you and I had a lot of the same things :) Great minds think alike. and oh my gosh YES to the eye brow plucking! I didn't start till AFTER college! and wonder WHY did I wait so long?!

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  9. I love the last line because it was true for me too. I did do some highlights, but I didn't pluck my eyebrows until senior year. Big mistake. It should have been done before. I love this letter because I could have written it for myself in the same exact manner. I love seeing all the photos from high school.

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  10. This is just perfect!!! Man I wish I wasn't so boy crazy in high school. I was a late bloomer so I didn't figure out how to tame my wild hair until about sophomore year, so it was Galway through high school before boys even started noticing me or talking to me and when they did I went nuts with crushes and flirting. I never did anything but I was more obsessed with being a relationship than anything else and it was such a waste of time. My parents were high school sweethearts so I think deep in mind I really did think that's where you meet your husband. So silly. I wish I had just done more things on my own or with my friends. Hindsight is 20/20 for sure!!!

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  11. I love the please start plucking your eyebrows. I am right there with you girl! How did we miss that memo in HS??

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  12. This is adorable! I think you need to share this with Olivia one day. She will appreciate it. Such words of wisdom and you did pretty alright for yourself missy, not too shabby at all ;)

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  13. Ok this is adorable and hilarious all in one. I love T-Swizz haha.

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  14. Great post! I totally agree with the eyebrow and highlight advice, too!

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  15. Loved seeing the pictures to go with the advice..great post!
    Shoes to Shiraz

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    1. Thanks girl! That took some courage to post those! To say that I was awkward back then would be an understatement. Haha.

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  16. Great post and I love all the throwback photos! I wish I would've done high school differently. I worried too much about stupid things. I see kids doing the same thing today and I want to tell them to relax. But you live and you learn!

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  17. I love this! There are so many things that I'd love to go back & tell my high school self. In the end, everything does turn out okay. It's so hard to understand that in the middle of high school.

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