Sunday 26 October 2014

5 things I'd tell my teenage self...


In retrospect, my teenage years weren't exactly horrific. They weren't all great granted, there were ups and downs but some of them were actually pretty awesome. 
Who'da thought that when your parents told you 'your school days are going to be some of the best years of your life' they were actually telling the truth?
I will hold dear a number of occasions from those years in my heart - but there are a few things I'd tell the teenage me if I was to meet her now...

1. Don't dye your hair black. Just don't do it.
This one's pretty self-explanatory from the above picture (back when I used to over-expose my selfies so much that my nose would disappear). I was far too pale to carry off black hair and it only washed me out further, not to mention it was an absolute ballache to get out when I eventually did want a different hair colour -  but of course I was 17 and too sassy to be listening to anybody but myself. I had that hair colour from the ages of 15-19. I eventually grew out the fringe and started wearing it in an unkempt, 'I'm not sure where my parting is' fashion - only to then earn the nickname 'Bella' from my apparent resemblance to Kristen Stewart. You can't win everything I guess.

2. It's ok to not know what you want to do with your life.
I think this is one of those statements that we'd all like to go back in time and tell our teenage selves. Don't know what career to choose? that's ok. Don't know what subjects to take at college/uni? that's ok too. Teachers/parents/peers put an enormous amount of pressure on - essentially - children to make decisions that are going to effect the rest of their lives. At 16, when you've got exams/coursework/skin issues/body image/boys on your mind as well, it can be alot to be getting on with. The main thing I'd tell myself - do what you enjoy, the rest will follow. 

3. STOP abusing the black eyeshadow/eyeliner. 
This, for me, is the thing I cringe most about when I look back on past pictures of myself - how much black eyeshadow/eyeliner I wore! The worst part was I distinctly remember thinking how cool I looked. I did NOT look cool - and I didn't even have that gothy/emo phase to disguise this unfortunate makeup mishap. If I was to go back in time, I'd steal all of the black eyeshadow I ever owned. 

4. Don't expect your life to turn out exactly how you've planned it.
I'm probably not the first to admit that I'm guilty of this. From being about the age of 11, you and your friends have decided by what age you're going to have your dream job/move out/get married/have kids etc...
Life doesn't work that way. And that's ok. If everything turned out exactly how we wanted it all the time, life would be pretty darn boring. I'd tell myself set yourself ONE goal each time, and achieve that before aiming for something else. It's much easier than setting yourself umpteen goals and being able to achieve none because you're taking too much on and trying to please too many people. 
Live your life for you because in the end, that's who has to deal with it.

5. Friends will come and go.
I have exactly one - yes, one - friend who I've continued to stay in touch with since high school/college. Obviously I've made other friends since leaving education and I have a pretty solid support system of them nowadays. Unfortunately, growing up I wasn't so lucky. In high school/college, friends are fickle. Teenagers are ridiculously impressionable and gullible to say the least and will change their minds about a person/thing/event at the slightest provocation. This isn't exactly a terrible thing - it all stems from an adolescent's insatiable desire to fit in with their peers so they'll do anything to please them. I'm not saying be awful to everyone because they're not going to stick by you. They might, and I hope they will - but what I am saying is don't wear your heart on your sleeve, that's the easiest way to get it broken. 

And with all that being said, I'm going to slap on a bit of that black eyeliner and break out the TOMS for old times sake. Now where did I put that Ramones t-shirt...

Lauren
xo

21 comments:

  1. Such an amazing post! It was lovely, but made me giggle because I was exactly the same. I was going to dye my hair black, but my mum said she'd disown me :(
    I abused eyeshadow (not black) but eyeshadow, I'd just smother it on my my face and look like a clown. I also had foundation a few shades darker than my skin colour. Sigh.

    I'm still a teenager for 3 months! But, I'm talking about my 13-18 year old self. I wish I told myself friends would come and go, I made too much of an effort trying to fit in and keep horrible friends.

    Thanks for the nice read!

    Amy
    xx

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    1. thank you for taking the time to read it! NEVER dye your hair black - one of the worst mistakes of my life! hahah!
      thank you for leaving such a lovely comment :)
      xo

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  2. Nice post!! Funny to read but in the same way so true
    artdicted2.blogspot.de/

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  3. I never dyed my hair black, thank goodness, but i wish I could have told myself all the other tips. great post! I'm just letting you know that I nominated you for the Sisterhood of World Bloggers award, you can check out all the rules and stuff on my blog :)

    http://thewhirlingderfish.blogspot.com.au/

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    1. awww thank you so much! i'll take a look! :) xo

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  4. I can relate to everything except #1 since I'm naturally black haired. That eyeliner thing is so relatable! I can't look at my teenage pics because of it. It's also one of the reason why I'm not fond of throwback photos. LOL

    Life With Antlers // A Personal Blog

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  5. I can relate to all, except #1, which in my case would be "don't dye your hair red!!!"... Reading this post made me smile and brought back some silly memories, so thanks xx

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    1. red hair is such a nightmare to get out! you're very welcome, thank you for taking the time to read it! :) xo

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  6. These are all so true! I've finally stopped dying my hair and found my first grey recently, you have to appreciate your natural shade whilst you can. And also I think it's totally normal to come out of a school or job or university with only a couple of true mates. A lot of people think it's odd but realistically it's pretty healthy :) x

    Jasmine // Magpie Jasmine

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    1. I totally agree! thanks for reading and stopping by! :) xo

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  7. This is a great post!!
    Love it!

    Xo,
    EE

    www.sparkleandslippers.blogspot.com

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  8. I'll be 17 for a month and a half, and I'm grateful to say that I've been mostly unscathed by my teen years. ^.^ There were certainly some bad makeup days, but there's no photographic evidence... so that doesn't count? But I do wish someone had told me to value myself and date boys who showed that they liked me for me, and genuinely liked my interests as well. I've dated far too many boys who didn't care for my dancing and faith, which are the two most important things in my life. *sigh* I've still got that month and a half to learn, though, right? ;) (or two years if you count all the -teens!)

    Great reflections, though. I enjoy these posts because I'm young and prefer to learn by example rather than living it. (:

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    1. aww thanks for reading! I'm glad this could help! :) xo

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  9. This post really did make me chuckle. I too was a slave to ridiculously thick black eye make up, despite the fact I had a thick 'it's not black it's really dark brown' fringe that completely covered one of my eyes haha. I agree with all of your other points too. Oh to be 16 again...

    Kirsty X

    http://kirstytalkslife.blogspot.co.uk/

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    1. tbh, I do sometimes miss it! hahah! :) xo

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  10. Every single bit of this advice I would have told myself, as well! It's so easy to see what you should have done in previous years, but at the time, all the decisions you were making you thought were right.

    I would add: It really does get better.

    Also, I've nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award. :) Please see here: http://redheadfixations.blogspot.com/2014/10/lovelyblogaward.html

    Thanks!
    Shanna Rogers

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    1. I agree! after all, teenagers know everything! xo

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  11. Great post, made me laugh. Agreed, dyeing your hair pitch black isn't the best idea... Well at least you didn't try to cut your own fringe. x.

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