13 THINGS I WOULD TELL MY YOUNGER SELF

The junior school years really were the high point of care free days. Little would this barbie helmet clad little me know what was to come in later years. You often hear adults saying 'when I was your age' or "you'll regret that' or 'I wish'... However, childhood stubbornness always prevails and you end up making and learning from your own mistakes. If I could give my younger self some hindsight would I listen, would I take it? Probably not! But here are the 13 things I would tell my younger self. 

1. Prioritise reading over watching.
I always regret not spending my endless amount of free time as a child reading. You may not think you love reading but you will find your niche one day... and realise you have so much catching up to do.

2. Throw away Sims.
Just do it. Stop creating your dream home, dream life, or dream career and start living your own.

3. Think about your career ASAP.
I had no clue what I wanted to do, I still don't. Recently, researching work placement and opportunities for work experience I always seem to have missed the application date. Forwards thinking not last minute thinking!

4. Nothing really counts until GCSE, and they don't really count either (apart from maths and english).
Spend less time worrying about work and more time building friendships. Unless you have an amazing memory you will not remember all your geography case study projects you spent hours artistically working on. On the other hand, you will remember the school trip memories you had with friends.

5. Don't worry about what others think of you.
Since coming to uni, I have really learnt not to care about what others think of me. Don't be scared of your personality traits, they make you who you are. By worrying about what people think of you, you become shy and miss out on social opportunities and experiences.

6. Don't be afraid to be a nerd.
If you love something, pursue it. When you get to uni you only choose one subject anyway!

7. Instincts and intuition are your best advisers. 
I don't know why, and I don't know how, but that gut feeling in your belly or that first thought in your head is usually right. And please have initiative, people with no initiative won't get very far. This means not relying on other people.

8. Don't worry about your skin, it will get better.
I was so self conscious about my skin, I still can't bear to look at family photos from a trip to New Zealand! I picked, I squeezed, I lotioned and potioned and stuck to the toilets in class to put more concealer on (I was too self conscious to do touchups in front of others).

9. Don't give up sport, it will help you stay trim in the pre-teen years.
I went from 12 hours of gymnastics, swimming and netball, to 12 hours of nothing... and I got fat. Right around the time where puberty only added to the scales.

10. Mum is right about posture.
I have scoliosis. No one has ever been quite sure what triggered it but I'm sure it didn't help siting on the sofa or being crouched over laptops endlessly browning clothes shops.

11. Appreciate family holidays.
Planning a holiday isn't all that easy. Doing it on a budget is even harder! Mum is a superwoman for organising it all.

12. Fashions fade, buy classics.
Jack Wills, Hollister, Ambercrombie logos, they are all a fad. I wish I'd bought more white shirts, leather pumps and white summer dresses. Build up a collection of shoes and coats and it will take you anywhere.

13. These posts are written with hind sight and wisdom, don't shrug them off because you'll end up with an even longer list in years to come!