If I had to give young girls 5 pieces of advice, it would be:
Do not be friends with people you do not like. Evaluate your friends. Just because you’ve been with them for years, does not mean you actually like them. Think how you would think of them if you two just met. Think about how they make you feel, and if they uplift you, support you, and you have fun with them. Make sure your friends have no jealously towards you, or any nastiness. (You don’t want to hear this, but your mom is probably right about who are your true friends.)
Girls under 18.. Do not get involved with boys, especially physically.. I understand hanging out, and talking. You can enjoy life and the entire high school experience, I’m not shaming ANYONE for their desicions, but be very, very selective, and very responsible if you decide to do things (physically) with anybody. You never know boys true intentions, especially ones in high school, and I would tell every young girl to save the trouble. Flirt a little, have a little crush, it’s cute, it’s fun, but anything more and you will be suffering from heartbreak, & in the end you could get a lil boy crazy. Getting in a relationship could also mess up future opportunities, and sadly, even your dreams. (Harsh reality, but you may feel too tied down to go after what you really want in life.) In a couple years, you will be very proud of yourself, and grateful that you stayed single and did not give unworthy boys your valuable time or energy.
Girls still in high school, If you choose to work.. Get a part time job. Do not dedicate a ton of your time to work. You have ALL of your life to work. Find out what your true interests and hobbies really are, work on yourself, and what you love to do. Experiment with different things to find out what you really want to do. I worked 5 days a week throughout most of my time in high school, and I wish I didn’t. I wish I enjoyed being that young more, and didn’t dedicate so much of that period in my life to a job I got absolutely nothing out of. So if you can, do NOT force yourself to work a lot of hours, and if you are working, try to save at least a little bit.
If you have a dream, go after it now. If you want to be a youtuber? Start now. If you want to be on tiktok? Start it now. If you want to be a doctor/nurse/vet? Start working on your grades and figuring out your plan now. There is no better time than right now, and your future self will be ETERNALLY grateful you did this! You will have a head start, that is so beneficial, and you can get so far so fast like this.
Have fun. LOVE YOURSELF, a LOT. Be the it girl. Be the girl in charge, don’t let anyone tell you you arent everything and more! Try to make new friends. Do things you enjoy. Learn new things about yourself. Read more books, go to more dances at school, more games at school, kickbacks, whatever it may be. Spend a lot of time with your family and your parents, especially if you’ll be leaving after high school or going off to a different college.
I hope this was helpful! Ultimately, do whatever your heart desires, but this is what I would tell myself a couple years ago.
