Nomad Online

Advice to my teenage self:

I see you there trying to fit in. Not quite comfortable within your own skin. You’re trying so hard to be who they need you to be. A good girl with good grades with good friends at a good school.

I see you there. Trying to meet their expectations. To catch their dream and present it to them. Real and tangible. You’ve seen their struggles. Felt their disappointments and hurt as they hustled for a better future for all of us.

That pain you feel when the popular snigger, when you fail again trying so hard to be someone else. That pain will pass. Although it feels like a thousand cuts right now.

Hang in there my teenage friend. You may buckle under the weight of other people’s expectations. You may even break one day.

But life gets better.

All those days trying to breathe through another day. You’ll find one day it will lead you down another path. An unimagined future.

And it’s even better than the broken dreams you’ve idolised before.

It’s full of love. And joy. Of hope. And comfort.

You’ll stop searching and pretending because you’ll find your home. And the sharpness and ache inside will disappear.

Believe me when I say life gets so much better my friend.

It gets better.

For the #bloganuary challenge. What advice would you give to your teenage self?