I wish I knew this before entering into my teenage years!

Teenage is that phase of your life where you experience a whirlwind of emotions as you transition into adulthood. You do not get along with your elders because you always feel like everyone’s judging you and they don’t understand you! It’s always a mental fight to constantly juggle between your childish and adult characteristic traits. After you pass your teenage years, you consider that some things could have been done differently or there were some unknown facts you weren’t aware of! I got your back! Below listed are some of the things that I wish I had known before entering into teenage-

IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY!

Don’t expect yourself to be in your best mental state. This would be the first time when you would experience stress, anxiety, eating disorders or even depression. Don’t let anyone invalidate your feelings. You got to protect your peace. Remember to never give up on yourself and never stop working on yourself.

DON’T CONSIDER PEER PRESSURE TO BE A LIGHTWEIGHT THING!

As a teenager, I never even realized how peer pressure worked. I never realized that if I’m feeling so low because, I have to miss a party, even that’s peer pressure. Peer pressure is basically what we call today as FOMO- Fear of missing out. But honestly, this isn’t worth it. After three or four years, you’ll realize the peace you get in skipping parties, day-outs, and night-outs. You would also prefer to be alone, do self-care, have a heartworthy meal and binge-watch something rather than go to an overcrowded area with lots of noise.

YOU CAN TAKE A BREAK FROM TRYING TO BE AN ADULT!

Go and take a day off and do all the things you enjoyed doing two or three years earlier. Go and play with your childhood friends, or go and have a 6–7 hour nap (Yes, scientifically, teenagers require more sleep than adults). I understand that there would be a lot of instances where you would consider yourself failing at everything, but those are just learning opportunities for you. Believe me, it’s always better to make these mistakes when you are at this age instead of making those same mistakes in your 20s.

NEVER CONSIDER EDUCATION AS A SECONDARY OPTION!

Always invest in yourself in terms of literacy because knowledge is ultimately the most influential thing in this world! Don’t tumble into the trap of Marks don’t matter. Yes, marks don’t matter, but education does. Exams don’t decide everything, but the material you were supposed to learn does decide everything. So, always keep your education as your first priority.

YOU DON’T REQUIRE TO HAVE THE ENTIRE FUTURE CLARITY!

At this age, you are just supposed to acquire as much knowledge as possible. You should not feel anxious about thinking of your future because the future tends to be uncertain. Just focus on the present and take one step at a time.

When you are in your 20s, I'm sure you will miss your teenage years because every phase of life comes with challenges and memories. That is the beauty of life! You can't expect to skip from one stage and move to another. Instead, you should be able to face everything with an optimistic approach and be grateful for every experience in your life. So enjoy where you are currently, and never stop investing in yourself to keep growing. One day, you will be thankful to yourself for giving you all the second chances you deserve. Because trust me, past experiences never go to waste! These experiences will make you the finest teacher for yourself in the future.