Everyone has heard the phrase “Sweet Sixteen.” It’s the birthday that we finally get our license, and it feels as though our independence triples. 16 is a fond age, and I remember it clearly, but now at the ripe age of 18 and 10 months (19 here I come) I have graduated from high school, become and adult, and started a college career. A lot can happen in 2 years and 10 months, and there is plenty of things I know now that I wish I had known at 16. Lucky for me though, I have a bright little sister who just happen to turn 16 this past week (Happy Birthday, again). She is my inspiration behind this post, and my only hope is that at least one of these things I am about to stay will not only stick with her, but any other wonderful 16 years old out there. So without further ado, here are some things I wish I had known when I was 16:

Be Open-Minded.

Carry this with you always. Despite how old you might feel, you are too young to close off your mind, because if you do, you might just miss out on something unique.

Learn to not only love yourself, but to laugh at yourself as well.

I’m not going to sit here and write some inspirational novel about self-love, because I know you have all heard it before. I’m going to keep this very simple, love who you are, and laugh when you need to. It’s not easy to do, and at times it may seem impossible, but I promise your world seems so much simpler in those few moments you decide to let go of all that negativity.

Dating doesn’t define anything.

Everyone has that one friend that is dating someone new each month, and then the one friend who has sworn off dating till their married (For anyone who is sitting there confused, that was just one of my dad jokes). Anyways, you the reader know where you fall on this scale, and guess what? It doesn’t matter where you rank. I understand that dating can be fun, and if the right person comes around then I 100% encourage you to go for it, but never EVER force it. Don’t fake feelings or say yes first chance you get, it normally does more bad than good.

Kick anything negative to the curb.

Negative people, atmospheres, or anything that doesn’t provide a positive outcome to your life needs to be expelled immediately. So much is going to happen in your life that you just don’t need that extra stress holding you back.

Be happy, but if you can’t right now, that’s okay too.

News flash, just because you get older doesn’t mean things will get easier. There will still be bullies, but instead of your classmate now, it could be your boss later. There will always be a mountain to climb, and battles to be done, but that doesn’t mean happiness is impossible. You are capable of finding a reason to smile each and every day, but there will be days where it just might not happen, and that is okay too. Just like everyone deserves to be happy, everyone also deserves to be sad when need be. The only difference with sadness though, is that eventually we need to let go, and find some reason to smile.