10 Advices That You Wish You Could Give to Your Younger Self

With every new sunrise, I feel more mature and wise than I was the previous day. But am I really?

There are so many things I wish I knew when I was younger. Things that matter, things that do not. With time, you feel you are enlightened, but the question, are you really enlightened? Often creeps into your mind?

Taylor Swift‘s song ‘fifteen’ is one such song that advises on the dilemmas you face when you are, well, obviously, fifteen.

10. “Beta abhi padhai karlo, baad me life set ho jaayegi!”

If you haven’t grown up hearing this, then you are probably not a true Indian. Because, for us, education is the ultimate goal of life. But the irony is that life is never set for anyone. No matter how much you study or how much you dont.

When you are in school, parents will scare you about the grades you get in your unit tests and mid-terms, then they will pressurize you into getting unimaginable marks in your board exams.

After you join a college, society will start elaborating on the importance of getting a good job with a satisfactory salary.

But the best part is, you will eventually be fine. Everyone is. Just have faith in yourself.

9. “School days are the best.”

School days are indeed the golden days of your life. Enjoy them while they last. Have all the fun you can while at school. Cause those memories are the ones you will hold onto for the rest of your lives.

You will miss everything about school.

Be it those boring, monotonous morning assemblies or waking up early and still missing the school bus. Be it those times when you bunked classes in the name of “Prefect duty” or when you were apprehensive about that homework you are so not going to submit. Or those classmates that you hated from the core of your heart.

Those days when you fought with your class teacher for half a mark as if your life depended on it. That elation when a teacher is absent, and the substitute teacher gives you a free games period. That ma’am who was your first-class teacher, or that Sir who inspired you to choose your subject in college.

Those lovely times will never come back. And you will cherish them till your last breath.

8. “Carpe Diem.”

Always. Always follow these 2 magical words.

Be it a debate competition or a school trip to Manali. Do NOT miss it. Use your time smartly cause it is not going to come back. There is a right time for everything. The school excursions that you missed where your friends had an immense amount of fun, that Annual sports day you did not attend because you were not participating, but you later got to know that your class stood first. Those are the times that you are going to miss and regret. Do not miss anything during your school or college days; participate and show up.

These days will never come back.

Seize the opportunity, my friend. Kise pata kal ho na ho.

7. “True Friends are by Your Side until The End.”

Choose your friends wisely. If they are still there at your worst, then you know they are the ones for life. But if they are not, then there is no need to run after them or have any expectations. They will always disappoint you. You will feel so much better once you let go of them.

Crying for a friend, who shared her lunch with you, but who could not accept your achievement or success is not a real friend. That friend who gossips about everything other than studies, you do not need them, trust me. Stay with the one who encourages you to spread your wings and grow, who asks you to take care of yourself, because nobody will do that for you—good riddance to bad rubbish.

6. “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.”

Life is not a movie. It’s not scripted. The sooner you realize that, the better. You write your own script and your own ending. No one has the right to dictate you. You will not have many friends who will be there with you from your childhood days till you get old. You will not marry that boy or that girl who was your date partner when you were in school. You are not going to be a doctor or an engineer even if you top the board exams. It is YOUR life. And in the end, you will only do the things that you really want to do.

Do not indulge in silly fights with others because they said something bad about you or your friend; it is who they are, and you can’t change them. Your fight will not change their behavior towards others, and they will stay the same. But you need to stay generous and show them that you care.

Do not compete with others. You are unique. Your competition should always be with yourself.

5. Brain Over Beauty.

Superficial beauty standards will only get you so far. Be a beautiful person inside. I know it’s a materialistic world. But being intelligent and witty would get you much farther in life. Putting make-up all over your face and going out with friends will not take you much further in life. Instead of spending all that time applying makeup, if you study an hour more and complete the next day’s homework, then you will gain the knowledge of two days in just one day. Yes, even that cute guy you crush on would prefer you over a bimbo. (True story!) *wink*

4. Relationships and Breakups

Don’t get sidetracked by those butterflies in your stomach. You like the person because most of your age or people elder to you roam around with boys and girls in their free time and talk to them on their phone. It has nothing to do with love. You are not in love. Please do not depend on a single person or make them the center of your universe. Cause you are eventually going to have to break up. No matter how perfect it seems, it is not meant to be.

Those butterflies are not in your stomach in your surrounding environment. It is just the urge to grow up soon. And that is completely fine. Getting over someone is undoubtedly one of the hardest and most difficult things you will ever have to do. But once you do it, you will emerge as an inviolable and resolute person.

3. “Haww! Woh daaru peeta hai.”

Don’t be so judgmental because you will probably end up drinking every night yourself. And that’s okay because that doesn’t make you a bad person. There will be a time when a friend of yours will talk about how he got drunk and fell asleep on his bedroom floor or how her mother caught her smoking on the balcony. You will probably puff on those cigarettes outside your college gate as well.

2. Say No to Potential Regrets.

It’s okay to say no. To anyone and everyone. Yes, even your parents.

Choosing your career based on your parent’s choice is probably the stupidest thing that you can do. Your parents will try really hard to convince you since all they care about is your job security, and all they want is a secure future for you. But it is you, who knows yourself, you know which subject you are interested in, which subject you can carry forward. So, do not go by someone else’s decision. It is no shame to be an Arts student, and there is no pride in being a science student.

“I don’t want to be an engineer.” It is not that difficult. Say it.

“I don’t like science.” Convince them. They want you to be happy with whatever you do in life.

“I love her.” Have the guts to fight for what you believe in.

1. Never Ever Give Up.

The sun will rise again after the sunset. Once you fail a class or a test, it does not mean that you are a bad student. No one is a bad student. You did not understand the topic or the matter that you wrote about; there is no big issue with that.

A Cardiologist will not know that Oscar Wilde only has one novel, but a professor will. Never demotivate yourself; always believe that if they can do it, then you can do it too. Your entire life can not be bad, but a phase of your life can be.

At this age, you will have people who will give you unnecessary advice or try to distract you from your studies or even try to befriend you by saying that you are a failure too, just like them. These are the people who have no aim in life; all they want to do is waste their energy and time doing nothing. A bad day or period can last only so long. Spectacular days would follow!