58. 17 Things I Learned in 17 Years

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     Technically, I still have a day to go until I turn seventeen, but I feel like I'm close enough to my birthday to reflect on some of the most valuable things I've learned over the past seventeen years, and I hope to be able to reflect on my life another seventeen years from now as well.

  1. Your body is much more than something to be sexualized. A few months ago, I was lucky enough to watch a woman give birth, and it truly solidified the truth that lies in the magic of the human body. 
  2. Not everyone is your best friend, so don't expect undying devotion in return for all your aching. (And you are not defined by the people who do not love you.)
  3. You will never get anything out of being unkind to people; I have never looked back and wished I had been less kind to people, but I do wish often that I had really done more to be good to people. 
  4. But, on that note, you also have to prioritize who to be kind to. I used to think that it was unkind to call out people who said inappropriate things, but I have over the past 14 months come to realize that I am doing a great injustice and unkindness towards people I love when I fail to reprimand sexism, homophobia, or racism. 
  5. You have to take care of yourself first. Nobody benefits from being saved by a lifeguard who can barely stay afloat themselves. 
  6. The truth will set you free, but first it'll piss you off — let yourself be angry, and then make a change.
  7. Only you can feel what you feel; don't try to prove your feelings to anybody else, your feelings are real simply because you feel them.
  8. Some people just will not respect you, so don't try to please them in any way. Don't force yourself to be any quieter, louder, more or less intelligent, chill, or blind in the hopes that you will finally appease someone, because you won't.
  9. Sometimes cutting people out is not the way to go. Everyone messes up and more often than not they deserve a second chance.
  10. Travel keeps you sane.
  11. "There is no boy at this age that is cute enough or interesting enough to stop you from getting your education"
  12. You are not your weight/your GPA/your followers; you are not a number
  13. Change is okay and should be fostered, not shamed
  14. Make the most of what you have; you'll look back and wish you still had it
  15. Value your time enough not to waste precious moments on things you hate
  16. Don't invest your entire being into one person/hobby/thing; it's never not lead to heartache
  17. Si vis amari, ama. (if you wish to be loved, love.)

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