5 Things I’d Tell The Teen Me

What’s playing on Pandora right now? Here Without You by Three Doors Down

What am I reading? Unfortunately nothing! I’ve been so busy this week with edits on my current project that I haven’t had time for reading.

Latest News? If you read last week’s post, you’ll know my dog’s been a bit grouchy lately. I’m happy to say he made it through a visit to the groomer’s without too much of an incident. Well, he did try to dig his way out of cage, but I digress…

So for this week’s post I decided to share my thoughts. 5 things I’d tell the teen me:

1. Travel! I spent two years between high school and college seeing the world. I helped bathe orphans in Mexico, saw the wall come down in Germany, rode a bike in snowy Denmark, slept in too many airports to count, sang on a stage in Poland… and so much more. Since then I’ve sailed to the Bahamas, climbed a light house in Bermuda, hiked the Na Pali coast in Hawaii, canoed in Venezuela, zip lined a forest… and so much more. Travel! It’ll open your mind and soul to this incredible earth we live on.
2. Be open to change. When your heart and gut tell you to take a less comforting choice, consider listening. 9 times out of 10 your heart and gut are right.
3. Learn a language. Be it Spanish, French, Farsi, or whatever, dig in and learn it. Be willing to travel to a country that speaks your chosen 2^nd language and do total immersion. Be willing to take more classes than are required for a high school diploma. Knowing a second language is an irreplaceable skill.
4. It’s okay to break up with a boyfriend. What’s it’s not okay to do is choose boys over friends. Boys will come and go, but friendship is the foundation to a solid life full of laughter, love, longevity, and surprises.
5. Choose independence. You will be so proud of yourself for working hard, making your own money, and achieving your own success. It’s okay to rely on someone but be ready to stand on your own feet. You will be a better, more fulfilled person because of it.