7 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I Was 15

1.       Don’t ever give up on your faith no matter how hard life gets. – Every single day there are going to be people that let you down, but God will never be one of them. All of my life, I have always tried to keep a strong faith. Now, I truly know that faith is what keeps me going and faith is what saved me. I would be nowhere in life without it.

2.       Spend as much time as you can with your loved ones and never take time with them for granted. – Recently, I have lost two very important people in my life that I never dreamed of losing. It made me realize that I have wasted so much time doing other useless things when I could have spent that time with them. When you lose someone, it makes you realize that your loved ones truly are something to appreciate and you should never take the time with them for granted. I would give anything to talk with my Granddaddy or Aunt Debbie again.

3.       Growing up seems fun, until you actually grow up. – When I was little, I could not wait to grow up. I was so ready to be in high school, get my own car, and have my own house. To be honest, all I want now is for everything to slow down. In two years, I will be out of high school and then I will be out in the real world where so much is expected of me. Nowadays I just wish that I was little again.

4.       Just because you were friends, doesn’t mean that you always will be. – I really wish that someone had told me this advice earlier. As I have grown up, I have learned who is really there for me and who never really was.  It’s weird. When you’re younger you think that you and one person will be best friends forever, and for some people that may be the case. All in all, I ended up with some great friends and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

5.       Don’t ever change yourself to be “accepted into society.” – Someone, somewhere is never going to accept you. You could be the nicest person in the world and someone is still going to find something wrong with you. The person you are is the person you are meant to be. God made you the way you are for a reason and if other people don’t like that then too bad.

6.       If you have family, then you have everything and more. – My family has been through heck and back this year. Things happened this year that I would have never dreamed in my worst nightmares. One good thing came out of all of this though… it made my family stronger. My whole family is already close-knit, but we really became close this year. When everyone else walks out, family doesn't. They are always there for you. 

7.       Always believe in yourself no matter what the circumstances are. –In life, there are always going to be people that want you to have low self-esteem about yourself and people who don’t want to see you succeed. The best way to get back at those people is to prove them wrong. Become successful and work hard, because it will take you far and it does pay off in the end.