1. Don’t rush. If there’s something you’ll miss, it will be the time you have now. 2. Stop wasting time blaming yourself and blaming others–things happen for a reason, even if the reason will make sense ten years down the road. 3. Don’t stay around toxic people just because you’re afraid of being alone. Being your own best friend has its perks, and there’s no one else you’ll spend more time with than yourself. 4. Be yourself, unapologetically. It may be embarrassing now, but you will learn that there’s nothing more interesting than someone true to themselves. 5. Don’t be afraid of voicing your thoughts, don’t be afraid of calling out people that hurt you. 6. Write. Write. Write. It will help you clear your mind and also distract yourself when you’re anxious. Writing will be your best friend. 7. Learn all you can, and enjoy it all you want. Knowledge is the only thing truly yours. 8. Be the friend you need, the friend you want. 9. Read all you can. You’ll find the words you can’t say in the lips of others, you’ll find shelter. 10. Love yourself. That’s the only love you will have, constantly, and the only one that will stick with you even if you fail.

A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other…Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever

Do not allow him to consume you. If he does not call, go to sleep. If he does not message, put your phone away and have a fantastic day anyway. If he acts distant when you are with him and refuses to tell you what is wrong, don’t wait for him, go home and do something you love. If he tries to insinuate you do not need your friends now that you have him, spend more time with your friends. If he tries to teach you a lesson through the silent treatment, ignore him completely. If he plays with your feelings constantly, walk away from him. If he acts like your body is his entitlement when you are not ready, walk away from him. If he says terrible, unforgivable things and threatens to leave you after every argument, walk away from him. If he forbids you from doing anything you love, walk away from him. If he claims ownership of your accomplishments, walk away from him. If he demeans you or disrespects your being a girl and refuses to stop when you tell him it hurts, walk away from him. I cannot stress this enough, you live for yourself first. He is a secondary character in the story of your life. Do not allow him to turn you into a secondary character in your own book.

It’s okay to walk away. You’re allowed to leave this place. You’re allowed to leave toxic people. You’re allowed to say no without explaining why. You’re allowed to quit something that you don’t really love. You can move freely. You’re allowed to start over with something else. You’re allowed to fail and try and try again.

“What was the hardest part of your first heartbreak?” my little sister asked me one day. It was a sunny day, we were having a picnic. But suddenly, I felt as if the clouds had overtaken the sun. “I think the hardest part was that we kind of morphed into the same person,” I said. “What do you mean?” she asked. “When you spend so much time together, you get so close. Soon enough, you can read each other’s minds, you can tell what they’re thinking just by a raise of their eyebrow.” I picked away at the grass we were sitting on, trying not to feel the depth of what I was saying. I couldn’t let myself get that low again. “Your favorite song becomes his favorite song. Then, his favorite bands become your favorite bands. You start loving the same movies. You pick up hiking together. And then when you break up, you still love all those things. It’s all still there.” “But they’re not,” she said, almost in a whisper. “But they’re not,” I repeated. “And it’s like you become a half of a person, left on your own to grow the other half back.”

Find someone who pays attention. Who runs their fingers over your every scar; and asks where each one came from. Find someone who knows how you like your coffee; what song makes you want to roll the windows down and slam on the gas pedal. Find someone who takes in your smallest details; who notices the things you thought no one ever would. And then…when you find them… Be their someone, too.

Your tears are a blueprint of who you are. They only come out when you feel intensely. The reasons, whether joy or pain, show what you care about, what you value, who you hide underneath your mask.