January 11, 2016

What My Teenage Years Taught Me

Today I'm feeling a little nostalgic. My teen years were a whirlwind of dance performances, hair straightening, love, and loss. I decided that today would be a perfect day to round up the lessons I learned from the years that made me who I am today.


Best friends might not be forever, but that's ok

People aren't just put in your life for a reason, but also sometimes for a season. The teen years are a prime time for relationships to come and go, and it's best not to fret over it too much. I learned a lot from the people that were (and are) my friends from my teenage years.

Follow your passions, even if they are different from others
In middle school, my passion was for choir even though that wasn't what a lot of my friends were doing. It sounds silly, but doing my own thing then helped me to be more comfortable with following my passions in the future. Plus, I can sing all four harmonies for 'Carol of the Bells' so like...mess with me.

Boys aren't always like the boys in the Taylor Swift songs
And that's because they're boys. And you're 13. So chill.

A purple smokey eye is not for you
'nuff said.

When it feels like "the world is ending", it probably isn't
I stressed and cried over a lot of things in my teens. My big economics project, my dance auditions, fights with friends....and here I am today, still standing and living to tell the tale. In some of those moments when my stress level was at a 10 and I had the zits to prove it, I felt like nothing would ever get better. I have to remind myself this often nowadays - everything will be fine. The world is not ending. This just sucks. I will get through it.





I'm super excited for this next chapter of my life! I'm so glad I have all of you to share it with.
Thanks for celebrating with me!

X,

Cristina

25 comments:

  1. Ha, yes to the purple smokey eye! I love looking back on old times, but sometimes it does help you realize that you've changed for the better!

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  2. It's so fun and a little embarrassing to look back at what we were like as teens. Thanks of gracefully sharing!

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  3. Happy birthday birthday buddy! I LOVED reading this because I had so many similar lessons learned. The start to my 20's has been some of my favorite times, and I know yours is going to be phenomenal!
    So happy to share my birthday with you!

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    1. Aww thanks girl! Can't wait to see you next month!

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  4. All such great advice and super true! Thank you for sharing your lessons and I loved seeing your photos through the years.

    Kayla | kaylablogs.com

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  5. Purple smokey eyes...hahahahahah I used to love this!! I love this post. As a 23 year old, I am still learning that my best friend from back then may not always be around.

    Nicole // Chronicling Home

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  6. These are all such awesome lessons! Honestly, the first lesson is still hard for me. I'm 26, and I still have a hard time letting go of some friendships even when they're so obviously toxic. Blah. Thanks so much for sharing such awesome lessons. So insightful!

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  7. Great lessons. Even though they are sometimes hard to go through they do make you a better person... even that purple smokey eye haha

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  8. Love the photos through the years! one of my favorite parts of adulthood is letting go of that "the world is ending" mentality!

    HashtagFabLife

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  9. Such great advice! I wish I could go back and tell myself that the world isn't ending and that nothing is forever. Oh well, at least we learned am I right?

    -Ruya
    sweetshortandstylish.com

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  10. Great advice! For me, it was the pink smokey eye that I thought looked super cute on me haha!

    Lauren | The Arizona Prepster

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    1. I used to put pink and purple TOGETHER...haha it was not cute!

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  11. Such valuable lessons! Time is definitely the way to learn these life lessons, sometimes it just takes going through them to understand.

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  12. All of these are super true! We usually see things in 20/20 looking back

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  13. Following your passions, even if they are different from others is a huge one! I totally agree! No one else can achieve your dreams for you!

    -Morgan
    How 2 Wear It [] http://how2wearit.com

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  14. "Best friends might not be forever" -- this was SO hard for me to grasp when I was younger. I'm so glad I've found a friend that I've been close with for a while -- almost 6 years! -- but I am also so grateful for my other best friends growing up because they taught me so many valuable lessons, good and bad.

    http://thealwaysblog.com

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  15. Cracking up at the boys and purple smokey eye, so true! Such great points!
    www.kayleighskloset.com

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  16. Happy birthday (again)! I love that you wrote this post because it brought me back to my teenage years - makeup choices at 14 are always questionable (like that time blue eyeshadow seemed like a good idea).

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  17. I love this, I'm learning in my twenties that it is okay to be multi passionate!

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  18. Yay for the next phase of your life. There is so much to learn in your teens but I would argue just as much (if not more) to learn in your twenties. It's all so exciting!

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  19. I always find myself cracking up while reading your blog posts, and this was no exception!
    xo, Syd
    anchoredinthesouth.com

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  20. I think in high school (and even in college) every little thing felt like the world was ending! Beautifully written posts :)

    XO, SS || Seersucker Sass

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  21. What a great post. I think it is important to follow your passions even if you are the only one doing it.

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  22. YES YES YES to all of these--especially the purple eye shadow or in my case, glitter lipgloss that was STRAIGHT glitter lol

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  23. Haha, I love the tip about the purple smoky eye, I actually love purple makeup but it's not for everyone!

    XO,

    Hannah from HMS Jewels

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