Fifteen years old. Could it be my actual maturity or just the naive character of my age that makes me feel so much older than I am? Needless to say I'm ready to turn 16, stepping into what feels like a new person who lacks the need for his family to sacrifice everything for him; gaining the independence of an adult and growing into the qualities that his mom and dad have shown him for the last fifteen years. The last few months have consisted of impatient waiting for the freedom of the age, ready to live the romantic ideas that run alongside being sixteen. As wonderful as it is to be looking on to the adventures that await me, I will always hold the lessons I have learned in my pockets for safe keeping. Lessons that have settled into the lines of my fingertips and palms, due to taking them out to share with others who need them a little bit more than I do. Here are some of the lessons that shape the person I am and will be.
1. Be the most motley, ambitious, empathetic, and reliable person that your heart wants you to be. Learning to be confident in yourself is the greatest gift you will ever receive, not only helping you, but raising the eyes of others, showing them how to be confident in their own skin.
2. Never lie to the strangers you want to call your friends. If they are anything like my current friends, they will see right through the window you're trying to pull the blinds to, their eyes seeping through like beams of sunlight.
3. find someone (or many!) who makes you laugh until tears are streaming down your face.
4. Let go of people who make you feel like you are less than them. The ones who walk away leaving you feel frustrated with the world are not worth the time you give to them.
5. Actions speak louder than words ever will. Leaders are praised for their speeches, but known for their movements.
6. Acne is not nearly the mountain you make it out to be. It is natural and will take time to find the products that work for you. People are kinder than they look when it comes to your blemishes.
7. Feeling a summer breeze is much more exhilarating than tapping a glass screen, gaining empty sympathy from strangers who care to read about your first world problems.
8. Listen to the generations that came before you. They have been through so much more and lived such a different life than we can imagine.
9. haribo gummy bears can solve any problem.
10. Everything. And I mean absolutely everything, happens for a reason. Question why and then find the answer. From there you can change your life.
11. “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” ― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.
12. Pain is absolutely okay. Hold your stomach and let hands rub your back and comfort you while tears dry out your cheeks. You do not deserve the pain, but from it you will grow, becoming a stronger, more knowing person than before.
13. Create. Create. Create. Put something into the world that you are proud of.
14. There is so much to fix. There are too many problems and too much love for our country and the world to not want to make a difference in it. Cry out your opinions to the heads of our government, but with an open mind be ready to hear shouts back.
15. Shoes make the outfit.
16. Dive into a pond on a rope swing with the people you love most around you. This one is a bit more personal, but if you ever have a chance to recreate it, seize the moment and realize how beautiful life can be.
I can't believe I am turning sixteen tomorrow.
Stay peachy,
Aaron <3