Like most kids growing up, I always wanted to be older than I was, to grow up as soon as possible. In my mind, 16 was the oldest, most grown up age and all the 16 years olds I knew were the coolest and most grown up people in the world. Then, I hit 16 and realised this was a lie, because 16 sucks. Then all I wanted was to be 18 and to be an “actual adult”. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Today, I had a revelation, that I finally actually do feel like an adult (ha); I feel like I’m getting to grips with grown up things like taxes and politics and the importance of wearing my retainer if I don’t want crooked teeth. With that revelation in mind, I thought I’d write down just a few things I wish I’d known back then, even though I’ve still got a way to go and far more things to learn.
Boys can kind of be the worst
This is something you knew way back in the day when boys still had cooties, but promptly lost sight of around the age of 14. You’ll have your fair share of unreturned crushes and terrible relationships to know that sometimes it’s worth just letting the bad ones go. The good ones are out there, don’t worry. Plus, your girl friends are pretty much the best anyway.
Acne comes and goes
No one will warn you about the acne monster, but it’s something that will rear it’s ugly head. When you start getting scabby, cystic acne, circa age 12 it will be a shock to the system.and you’ll be assured by many that you’ll grow out of it. You’ll get to 23 and you won’t. What you will have is a wealth of tricks up your sleeve for making it go away faster.
Fringes just aren’t for you
Not all people suit fringes; a tip both young Emma and present-day Emma need to accept. You might have looked pretty cute when you were 3 with your cow’s lick fringe. It’s not so great when you try to replicate it aged 13. Don’t worry, Mum will buy you hot chocolate and snazzy hair clips so you can immediately start the growing out process.
Sometimes you might fail
You won’t find this out until you turn 16 or 17 though. Then you’ll fail a lot. And it will be the worst. But you’ll learn from it and it will make you even better/stronger/ smarter than you were before, and eventually, you’ll feel more confident and able to take on more than you ever thought you could.
Just Emma Things 