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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Adelphi chapter.

When I look back on my childhood there are a lot of things I wish I knew. There are so many things I wish someone would have told me at the time. It’s impossible to go back in time so I have accepted the things I cannot change. Even though I never want to change the way my life has played out, there are some things that I wish I could go back and tell my younger self. 

The first thing I would tell her would be to not take everything so seriously. Instead of feeling like you have to be mature and grow up fast, live a little. Be in the moment a little more. Also remember you are still a kid, you don’t have to be so much like a grown up. You don’t have to grow up so quickly, it’s ok to be a kid. 

Try not to stress so much. You don’t need to worry about everything as much as you do. Sometimes it’s okay to sit back and let the world happen around you. It’s okay to not worry about every little thing. The amount of time you will waste worrying and stressing is time you will never get back. 

Put yourself out there more. It is okay to be confident and to let the world see it. You don’t need to hide. You are talented in different ways and it’s okay for you to say that you are. Even though there might be someone better than you, you can still be good at the things you enjoy. 

I know you don’t have a lot of friends and the ones you do have seem to come and go. I know you feel like you don’t really fit in anywhere. It is okay to be unique and not fit in. Embrace the parts of you that make you unique and special. You do not need to be afraid to be different because the people who are different make the world a little more special. 

When you are older you will find friends. You will find people who like you the way you are. No, you are not unlikeable and no, you do not need to change for anyone. People will like and accept you just the way you are. It might seem like you will never have friends and people will never like you, but that is not true. 

Stop thinking you have to like guys because liking guys is overrated and you’re gay. You don’t need to try to force it because no matter how much you do it’s not going to happen. It’s okay to start to realize you don’t like guys. You don’t need to have it all figured out either. We still don’t have it figured out 100% yet. Don’t feel wrong for the way you are feeling. It is okay to know you like girls. You don’t need to hide it even though the world still makes it hard to accept it. It might take a while for you to accept this but I promise once you do it will be amazing. 

A lot of the things I wish someone had told me were lessons that would have caused me to look at life a little differently if I heard them sooner. A lot of these lessons never make it to kids but they should. Kids need to hear these things so they can grow up being proud of who they are.

Julianne is a Senior at Adelphi University. She is a mathematics major in the STEP education program. She is apart of the Active Minds, Her Campus, GSA, and Future Teacher's Association clubs at her university. She likes everything Disney and in her free time likes to write and do photography.