15 things I wish I knew at 15

On this Back to the Future anniversary day (Or so it was when I started this post, and no flying cars of hover boards, thanks a LOT!), and the anniversary of my oldest’s birth (that’s right, 15 years ago today, or now yesterday…) I have decided to jot down for her the 15 things I wish I had known when I was 15.

You’re really going to regret all those super trendy fads when you look back on pictures one day. You look SO ridiculous. But so what? Who cares? You are so worried about looking amazing all the time,- everywhere you go, but truthfully, it’s just not that important. The only person that remembers what you wore on the 1st day of school or at the 10th grade homecoming dance is you. So be you, and don’t doubt your style for a second, because your kids are going to love looking at those pictures one day.
You are absolutely going to fall in love one day, and it’s going to be amazing, but it’s not to that boy in high school. I know you think it’s going to be, everyone does, but it’s not, it rarely to never is. You’re not going to marry him. High school is about figuring out who you are (so are your 20s’ BTW), it’s not time for love. So just slow down, keep your cool, and have fun. Love will come, LATER!
Go to all of the school dances, and the big games, and all those other dorky high school and college experiences you have coming up. Really, you won’t regret going and you’ll only regret that you didn’t. You’re only young once and it is so very fleeting, enjoy ever second of it.
Don’t get into that car after you and all of your friends have been drinking. It’s just not worth it, you have too many people to call. One day you will look back on these careless moments of your “so you thought- invincible youth” and be sickened by your stupidity.
Who you are now is shaping the kind of woman you are going to be. The way you respect yourself and others, the amount of integrity you show, the way you stand up for yourself, the friends you choose- you are creating patterns. You are discovering who you are and are shaping your future self, be wise.
Don’t listen to what everyone has to say about you and don’t get so caught up in the hierarchy of High School- it isn’t real. In 3 years you will leave High School and realize none of it really mattered. Surround yourself with close good friends and listen to what they have to say about you, listen to what your family has to say about you, and let that be your guide.
Enjoy the crap out of that cute little body and your total ability to eat anything and still look adorable. But for goodness sakes, learn to work out now, because it’s really freaking hard when you are in your 30s.
Figure out what you love and what you are good at and do those things. Do something you really really love in life, go get the credentials, and make it happen. Life is too short to not love what you do.
Rock your accent. At some point in life you will work too hard to try and cover it up and then you’ll kind of regret it, because a Texas girl is who you are. But you’ve done it so long that it really only shows itself when you talk too fast or your really tired.
So Cliche, but sing in the shower, rock out in your car, dance in your room when no one is watching, and don’t EVER grow up too much to stop being a total weirdo goofball. It’s the thing people love about you.
Learn to manage your money at an early age and Don’t do the credit card thing. They are going to send you your first one in college, and it’s going to be all Shinny and silver and you are really really going to want to use it. But don’t, debt sucks, and it’s really hard to escape. Again cliche, but if you can’t afford it in cash then you really shouldn’t buy it right now. So learn now, at 15, to start saving because rainy days are going to happen. So quit blowing all your money on those goofy looking outfits and save a little.
Learn to play the Piano or the Guitar. I mean, is there anything cooler or more attractive than someone who can play and instrument? You will always wish you had, and the piano lessons you take for 2 years in college just aren’t going to cut it. You’re not that busy, you think you are, but you’re not. You don’t know busy!
People are brought in and out of your life. I know at 15 you have a best friend, and next year you are going to meat the boy you think you are going to marry, and when those people move out of your life, it is devastating. But enjoy the people who are brought into your life, even if for a season. Learn what you are supposed to learn from those relationships, they will shape you. And so many of the big things that happen in life will be a direct result of the people in it.
It’s going to be really easy to walk away from your faith in about 3 years when you start college. Just don’t. Don’t wait until you have kids, because you’ll just realize that God was calling you to something and you were too far away to listen, and then it’s a lot of work…
Family is the only thing that lasts forever. Even when you really believe that your siblings are Satan incarnate, they aren’t, and they are there in your life when no one else is. They are the only ones who never leave your side. So stick it out with them, and make more of an effort, you’re going to be really sorry you didn’t. One day, they will be some of your closest friends. Really, I’m not even joking.

Happy Birthday to my beautifully smart, amazingly talented, and hilariously funny girl. I have loved every 15 years of getting to know her and I hope that my lessons can somehow help her along the way.