Five Things You Wish You Knew at 15

I think it is easy to forget how hard it is to be young. As we get older, we tend to look at the younger generation with envy. Oh to be young again where things such as bills and jobs were nonexistent in our teenage world. Adolescence is like a bad relationship; after awhile we forget the bad and tend to only remember the good times that make us want it back once again. So much so that we almost forget the emotional turmoil that comes with growing up. Our teen years are often one of the most difficult times any of us will go through. High school can either make you or break you.

I chose fifteen because this is when we are now sitting comfortably in our teens, yet it’s time to start making big decisions, decisions that will most probably set the direction of the rest of our lives. So to any youngsters reading this, here are five things I wish I knew when I was fifteen and to the people my age, fifteen things I bet we all wish we knew at fifteen.

5. To Be Ballsy!

There is no denying that our teenage years are filled with insecurities, awkward moments and at times ridiculously low self-esteem, so much so that we find ourselves doing anything to fit in yet still feeling the need to be different. To be noticed without being picked out of the crowd. It's a confusing time. Making decisions that you feel will go against your peers' version of normal or acceptable is hard, but those years are the perfect time to be overconfident, to make mistakes and own them! I'm still making mistakes at twenty, but they hold more consequences than they would have at fifteen. Although at fifteen I didn't know what I wanted to do, it would have benefited me to try as many things as I could. I found that the majority of my friends only discovered their passions at eighteen and nineteen. It takes time; only a handful of people realise what they want to do early on in life. The rest of us have to keep on experimenting until we find something we naturally enjoy. It’s always better to start young; the sooner you find your passion the easier it becomes as you get older, and the more time you have to enjoy the success of your passion. Starting younger gives you the upper hand that we all wish we had, time.

4. To Stand Up for Myself

I was a painfully quiet child; socially awkward with a fear of embarrassing myself. It's easy to watch the popular guys and girls and wonder how they do everything with such ease and confidence. Because of my timid ways, I was an easy target for bullies. I was easily swayed by people as I didn't know how to speak for myself. I was not the main character in my own story. Think of your life as a story—we all want our story to be great, but a story will never be good if the main character is passive, something my teacher told me once and I have applied it to my life.

One day I no longer wanted to be quiet. I stood up for myself, envision a really cliché scene in a movie where the victim stands up to the bully and the bully is left speechless; that's exactly how it went down. After that day I was respected and no one messed with me again. The same thing happened at home, I stood up to my family, most people call it the rebel years I called it the i’m no longer taking peoples s*** years.

Since then, I have remained more or less the same. People will either love you or hate you for it. Outspoken people are not always the most favored, however those who do love you for it will also respect and appreciate you for it, and those friendships will last. But it is important to understand that everyone peaks at a different time. It would take another few years before I started to peak and grow into myself but I'm thankful for that. I’ve had time to grow and establish myself without an audience.

3. To Read Up!

Knowledge is power, say it again with me, knowledge is power!! I cannot stress how much I have learned in the past year alone by reading the correct books. I read a lot as a child although this was mostly fiction. Now I do not expect a fifteen-year-old to pick up Plato, however reading books that include self-help and/or philosophical meanings that encourage you to question your own reality can take you to a whole new level and change your mindset. I wish at that age I understood the variety of books available, or that someone had introduced me to them. You're never too young to question life. So to any fifteen years olds reading this, buy a three-pound self-help book on Amazon, something to do with your own confidence or whatever you struggle with and I promise it will continue benefiting you forever.

2. Ignore Pressure

Do not allow anyone to pressure you. Whether it be your family, friends, or teachers, rushed decisions always backfire. Never do anything for other peoples approval. Do things for yourself only.

I saved this for number one as this is probably the most important one. Be yourself. Struggling to fit in will only cause you unnecessary stress. Being yourself is probably the easiest and quickest ways to make friends and to be happy. You have no idea who would love you for being you. The most accurate physical representation of me as a teen is Hailee Steinfeld in The Edge of Seventeen (definitely recommend you watch), minus the cuteness and witty humor, I was a mess and it could have all been avoided if I had just been myself.