To My Little Sister

To my little sister:

What are big sisters for?  To steal clothes from.  To get advice about boys.  To learn the ropes of life.

Being that there is such an age gap between us, I now have the ability to give you the advice that I should have taken 15 years ago.  My life would have been drastically different if I knew these lessons back then.

Don’t follow in my footsteps.  Learn from my mistakes.

Here goes…

1. GO TO COLLEGE! No one can ever take away your education.  You will always have it to fall back on, just in case.
2. Go to college right after high school. Taking a break from college made it that much harder when I finally decided to go back.
3. Don’t date the jerk. If he doesn’t freely give you his time, he’s not worth yours.
4. Don’t rush relationships. You have the rest of your life, no need to hurry now.
5. Find your passion early. Find it and focus on it.
6. Be kind to everyone. Sometimes life isn’t about what you know but who you know.
7. Actions speak louder than words. Confused about a situation?  Step back and watch.  That will tell you everything.
8. Your parents don’t hate you. They love you that’s why they push you.  They see your potential.
9. Start saving your money.   Anything.  It will add up.
10. The “cool crowd” sometimes isn’t going very far in life. Unless you consider the state penitentiary “far”.
11. Figure out what kind of life you want for yourself and only hang out with people who have the same vision. Want to travel?  Want a new Coach bag every season?  Hang out with the people who are going places in life, not with the people who can bring you down.  They can and they will.
12. Watch out for mean girls. See my post on what to look for in a best friend.
13. Don’t tell your secrets to just anyone. Some people want to see you fail.
14. Good eyebrows are important. Seriously.

Every day I learn more and more.

This crazy journey I have been on for 30 years has taught me a lot.  Although it seems like only in the past year has most of this stuff clicked.

I’ve been through many struggles in life.  Somehow I have managed to claw my way back out every time.

Don’t follow in my footsteps.  Use me as an example of what NOT to do.

If you take anything away from this, don’t date the jerk! There will be many smooth talkers.  Let them talk.

Just remember every decision has a consequence.

Love you to pieces!

And when you’re old enough, we will cheers to this crazy journey called life!