Words of Wisdom to a younger Me

So, my mum and dad are currently sorting through the house and rinsing it of things they no longer need, as they pack up and move to Portugal, and my mum sent me these two pictures of me that she found:

Look how cute I was!

Anyway, looking at these pictures (and having a soppy movie on in the background) got me to thinking about how innocent this little girl in these pictures is, and if I could go back in time and let give her tips about her life to come, what I would say…

So here are six things I would say to a younger version of myself:

1: Skip out on the daily brownie and Caffe cooler from 7-eleven in middle school, will ya? Because, you have no idea how many empty calories these treats contain. They are a Big reason why you later get fat and have to live your teenage years feeling like a while. Not a good choice you made there, Younger Jess.

2: Don’t worry so much about everyone liking you in school. Because guess what? You don’t stay friends with most of them. The friends you keep in touch with today, left your life for a while, but they came back, without you having to change anything about yourself. REAL friends stay your friends no matter what.

3: PUT AWAY THOSE CIGARETTES!!! I mean it, to start smoking is the most stupid decision you ever made in your life. It’s expensive, smelly, and extremely hard to quit completely. Don’t start.

4: Appreciate mum and dad, because they really do give you everything you need and much more. As you go through your teenage years, you are pretty rude and ungrateful and trend to take your parents for granted. But once in a while, stop and look at them and remember how lucky you are to have just these two wonderful people as your parents. You come to realize this not before you move away to a different country and you spend months away from them at a time. Try to remember it when you have them there with you, and cherish living under the same roof. Because believe me, you will miss those times later on.

5: Shift your focus from boys, to friends, family, and mainly yourself. Boys are really not that important. I know everyone says so, but hah, it actually is true. You will find that you enjoy your life the most when you don’t have a guy confusing you. You will find the right man and settle down eventually, so live your free single life, and have fun with you friends (and cute guys of course), and enjoy being able to do whatever you want without answering to anyone, while you can. Don’t take until you’re 24 to realise that.

6: Go with the family to the country house over easter the year you turn 14, and go visit your gran and grandad, because as it turns out, that was the last chance you had to see your granddad before he died. I have regretted not going for the rest of my life.