Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Thursday's Children: 14 Things I'm Glad I Didn't Know at 14

Thursday's Children is a Meme where writers join together to blog about the things that inspire them. Click here to find out more and join the blog hop!


Earlier this week #14me was a trending topic on Twitter--messages people would send to their teen selves or things that they wish they knew when they were fourteen. But I think that one of the best things about being a teenager is the newness of it all. The first kiss, the first love, the first time behind the wheel of a car....well, for me that happened a smidge before I was a teenager, but that's between me, my dad and the parking lot of Lake Brantley High School

The bad stuff was important, too, though. And I think the growth that occurs through learning during painful times is probably the most important part of being a teen. In the immortal words of Alanis Morissette--goddess of all things angsty and teenage--You live, you learn.

So instead of listing the things I wish I'd known, here are some things I'm glad I didn't know when I was fourteen.

1. Bullying doesn't end when you leave high school.

2. Your first love will not be your greatest love.

3. Related to #2, you will never love anyone the same way as you love your first love. Not that you will love everyone else less, just differently.

4. Look to your left. Look to your right. Ninety percent of these people will not be your friends in five years. The ones who will aren't the ones you expect, and you will be grateful for that.

5. That thing you totally know your parents are completely wrong about? Yeeeeah, they're right.

6. The dream job that inspires you to bust your ass in high school, apply for every scholarship possible, and kick ass and take names in college so you can get into a good graduate school? You will be completely burned out on that job thirteen years later and ready to move on to an entirely different career that your ass-busting in no way prepared you for.

7. Your life will not end if you don't go to that party/dance/adventure/concert with your friends. (This is a lesson I still struggle with sometimes.)

8. You think you're tired now...

9. That thing you and your friends used to do where you'd take two cassette recorders and put them face to face so you could copy a bootlegged concert for yourself? There will be far less ghetto ways to do that in the future. Too bad you will REALLY frown upon it and come to believe that it actually is stealing.

10. Everything you think you know about government and politics is wrong. Everything. No, that, too.

11. People your age are mere mortals and just as susceptible to death as your grandparents.

12. Oooh, honey. The perm and the poofy, poodle-looking bangs? It's not nearly as attractive as you think.

13. There will come a time when standing up for what you believe in will cost you a lot of friends and it will hurt like hell.Championing underdogs can sometimes make you an underdog yourself.

14. Some questions have no good answers, no matter how hard you search for them.

Random side note: I was looking for pictures of me at 14 to include with this post and decided to google my maiden name. This was the first picture that came up, which is hilarious if you know what a complete John Green fangirl I am. (And no my maiden name is not John or Green or anything remotely related to John Green.)



Of course, this image also came up...


So...yeah.

What are some things you're glad you didn't know when you were fourteen?

Here are the linky tools to join the hop!


<!– start LinkyTools script –>
Powered by Linky Tools
Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
<!– end LinkyTools script –>
WordPress.com
<!– start LinkyTools script –>
Powered by Linky Tools
Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…
<!– end LinkyTools script –>

15 comments:

  1. Thing #1 I wish I'd known: any and ALL boys that age are NOT worth noticing / crying about.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great post, funny and touching. Thing #1 I'm glad I didn't know? Hmm, maybe that I wasn't destined for equestrian greatness - because I would've stopped trying so hard and that ultimately would have been bad for me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Aww, Veronica, but some of them are. Some of them are there just to make us stronger, right?

    @Rhiann Great point--adversity only makes us stronger. And I empathize. Clearly my belly-dancing career was going nowhere fast! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Loving this post!!! Thing #1 for me? That I'd trade in the black lipstick and the shaved part of my head for a megaphone, poms, and a big bow...would have blown my mind! Then I'd tell my 18 year old cheerleader self that in 12-14 years I'd trade in the ponytail and Asics for a full sleeve and nose ring once I figured out who I really was :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Number 2 and 3 are so so true. All the feels! Thanks for joining us on Thursday's Children!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great post - I totally agree, although my 14 year old self would never have listened... especially about the perm.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks, Jessika!Don't you love those times when you think you've got it totally figured out...until you realize you're completely wrong!

    @Kristina, thanks for having me! Love this meme!

    @Raewyn, oh no. 14 year old me never would have listened.

    ReplyDelete
  8. lol! This post was awesome, I especially love #'s 2 and 3. Those last 2 pics literally made me laugh out loud : )

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ohmagherd!! Totally feeling like a teenager right now. #1 thing I'm glad I didn't know--that my teen crushes were just normal boys, and not somehow "divine". What a disappointment that would have been, lol. Great post!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dannie - it's official. I adore you! :) And I adore this post. There are so many things I'm glad I didn't know at 14. In fact, I hope you don't mind, but I think I'm gonna do one of these posts, too. :)

    I think the number one thing I'm glad I didn't know is that young children die. I mean, obviously I knew it - but not in the way I do now.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Chris, absolutely! Steal with pride! :) But, feel free to tell folks to stop by here, too, k? :)

    And that is definitely a good one. Very in tune with the mss I'm querying at the moment, actually. Such a tough concept to wrap the brain around, even as an adult.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kate--that is brilliantly worded. Can you imagine how different every single thing about teen life would be if we knew how mortal our friends, rivals, and affection-objects were/are??

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is great! The part about the perm is funny. I wish we had straighteners back in my day. I had naturally curly hair that I was constantly fighting.
    I may have to do a post like this too.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Go for it, Michaele! And isn't that always the way? People with curly hair want straight hair and vice versa. Thanks for stopping by again this week!

    ReplyDelete