Here are thirteen pieces of Advice that I would give myself when I had less life experience as a younger person. Our adolescent and teen years are often filled with so much angst and worry. Quite often these concerns range from superficial worries like the type of music we’re into and want to be seen to be consuming to elevate people’s impressions of us, to real serious concerns such as body image issues and our relationships with food. As a fully fledged adult who can now healthily reflect on my past experiences as a teen, the following thirteen pieces of advice are for my younger self.

1. Advice: Some friends are only here for a season and that’s okay.

2. Though you dislike their decidedly poppy sound now, do you know that one day you’re going to miss The Fergie era Black Eyed Peas and their relatively clean brand of pop and upbeat tunes?

3. Watch people’s actions towards you and not their words.

4. You really need to slow down on the fizzy drinks.

5. There’s no need to try and model yourself off of other people. Be authentically you at all times.

6. What they are doing is called fat shaming.

7. That weird goosepimply sensation you get when someone is trying to distort the very real truth during a discussion or argument has a name. Gaslighting. And it is a real thing.

8. Music really is the best thing ever and that will never change for you.

9. There are tricky times ahead but you will get through it.

10. Some people are only family by blood.

11. Stop buying clothes a size smaller for ‘when you lose fourteen pounds.’

12. Learn to let go of people who consistently don’t make time for you.

13. You will be so glad that you Kept your CD collection!

What advice would you give your younger self? Let me know in the comments below!