I’d tell 13yo me thank you for reading the book of proverbs every month bc it changed my life and prob my life trajectory. I would tell her to be nicer and less judgmental abt ppl who didnt study or do homework. some ppl just blossom late and need to catch up their homework later in life 😛 id tell my 13yo BFF im thankful she was such a study nerd, and grateful her crazy parents brought me to church every week. in fact, thanked her parents recently, bc I practically grew up at their house. I was THAT kid. but 13 was the year I realized, we are more than our circumstances predict. that the ugliness outside, didn’t mean I had to become it inside. and the ugliness inside, need be overcome with something greater, better. for me that was the power of God’s love. at 13 I made choices, determined to never become the brokenness around me, inside others, inside me. God’s love showed me that doesn’t have to be my story, and what an adventure lived because of Him! I’ll fight for that better life, His life for me and others till my dying day.

I think I would tell my younger self to prioritize family.

I spent most of my younger years hanging out with friends and prioritizing them over my family and I wish I could have seen how important that is. Especially now as I live far from them and would love to be and spend more time with them…

I am a girl, and i'm tall. It sounds completely normal but it's used to be my biggest nightmare. When i was 13 jumping into my teenager time, i started paying attention about my appearance just like other girls. And not until that time i started receiveing many comments about my height, most of which are negative. In my circle, tall girls are considered weird, unusual and sometimes.. ugly that no one would like to date with :( This is even worse when the guy i had a crush on said he feels embarassed standing next to me. That's why i spent all my teenager time doubting the value of myself. I didn't have a nerve to wear high heels, even though i love it. Until I met an amazing partner, my soulmate :) Everything changed. I started wearing heels for the first time, I learnt how to ignore all the negative comments and most important, be confident and love my body. I want to tell that 13-yo girl that you are very beautiful. Go wear whatever shoes you want, and always believe that your value is not defined by the others.

love what u write here. planting seeds :) but not that breakneck way of rushing it all and missing out the moments. one who chooses to grow is never stuck. I love the wisdom u have here about contentment, and evolving instead of forcing :)