Five Things I Wish I'd Done as a Teenager

You may read this post and think 'but you're only 20 years old?' and although that may be true, throughout my teens I feel that I became somewhat complacent and in some cases a little bit lazy, thus leading to being slightly less 'on track' than I would like to be now. 

Life is what you make it and there are such a variety of pathways that you can take, each leading to something different; there are some days where I feel content with the decisions that I made throughout my teenage years, however, I often find myself questioning whether I would have done things differently. 

This engraved necklace was gifted to me on my 18th birthday, you can find it here. 

1. I Wish that I'd Persevered with a Different Language 

I found the process of learning another language very difficult (although on reflection it was never going to be easy!) meaning that when it came to choosing my GCSE's I was glad to bid farewell to both French and German. If I were to go back, I would have continued with French, as it would be wonderful to be able to speak and fully understand the language of those from a country that gives me such joy. Since a young age I was able to pick up words within a conversation, however as I have grown I have found this an irritating trait, as I want nothing more than to be able to understand and have the ability to respond with confidence.

2. I Wish that I'd Tried Harder with Friendships 

Throughout my schooling I found it difficult to maintain friendships with girls. Not being afraid to be myself (which is one thing that I am proud of!) I found that I was often discarded from friendship groups and replaced with somebody who was willing to follow the crowd. I left school with few friends, more so acquaintances, awaiting a fresh start.. thankfully, it came. I left college with a large group of close friends, however since then I have only stayed in contact with a handful. I wish that I had made more of an effort to stay in touch; it's so easy to place the blame on other people, but at the end of the day, you only get out as much as you put into anything in life. 

3. I Wish that I'd Carried on with Music

I have always loved music, and between the ages of 10 and 17 I played the flute; I reached grade 6, and began preparing for my grade 7 when I decided that it was taking up too much of my time. I met Jack when I started college, and I had much rather have spent my time getting to know him than being driven to and from music lessons over the weekends; although I am grateful that I got to spend so much time with him during the first few months of our relationship, I wish that I had made more of an effort to balance things. I now know that there is always time to do the things that you love, whether it's attending music lessons, learning a new language, or simply taking time out to catch up with your favourite blogs! 

4. I Wish that I'd Started Blogging Sooner

When the time came to apply to university in 2014, I had my heart set on Bournemouth to study journalism; I applied for both this and a media course, as well as for a place to study at The University of St Mark and John. I got offered a place to study media and the alternative journalism course, however Bournemouth rejected my journalism application- I was heartbroken. When it came to receiving feedback, I was told that although I had expressed my desire to start my own blog, I was not yet doing so, therefore there was little evidence of my ability to write; if I had started blogging a year earlier, I may be in a different place now.  

5. I Wish that I'd Embraced Natural Beauty 

 As a teenager I was incredibly naive when it came to the idea of what was 'beautiful'; like my other girls I spent years experimenting with make up and plucking my eye brows within an inch of their life (something that I shortly after regretted!) meaning that I was left with irritated skin and very sparse brows.. I have spent the past couple of years learning how to enhance my better features, and play down those that I am less fond of, whilst keeping my make up to a minimum and investing in a strong skincare regime. If I have learnt nothing else throughout my teens, it is that you should never pluck from the top of the brows- trust me! Such fond, yet regrettable memories. 

If you were able to go back to your teenage years, would you have done anything differently?