While my little sister was looking for a notebook to take back to school after winter break, she stumbled upon an old green composition book. The doodled on cover says "Mackenzie Burch WWPS 5B." Open in up and you're faced with the scribbled, large heading "Rules" followed by 15 life tips written by a me minus seven years. Some of them are typical 5th grader mentality like no. 3: "If your little sister wants you to do something you don't want to, ignore it," but some others still resonated with me today in a comical, kiddy-pool-deep way.

No. 2: Never eat Spinach.

Okay, okay. I don't like spinach even with all it's super food goodness or whatever they call it now. My Grandpa Larry has actively taught me my whole life that good food needs to be appreciated. Once we were staying in a big, fancy hotel in Minneapolis for an honor choir and he treated me by ordering one of everything on the room service menu. Lots of people tend to deny themselves simple pleasures, especially when it comes to food. Life is already hard enough without having to pretend you want a salad for lunch. If you don't like like the spinach, never eat it. The cupcake cake is worth it, trust me.

No. 4: If you get hit in the head, don't cry (unless you are at home).

I have never been super athletic, so P.E. was a trying time for me. I got hit in the head a lot during various games of kickball, volleyball, basically anything involving balls. Crying in school definitely deflates your street cred, but I think there is a larger lesson behind this one as well. My mom used to always tell me to not let people get to me and "kill them with kindness." I still use this mentality while dealing with a grumpy fast food worker or a snippy receptionist. If someone hurts your feelings, it's better to just let it roll off of you instead of crying and making it a bigger deal.

No. 5: Teachers are ALMOST always right.

At a young age I developed a deep terror for authority, mainly referencing teachers and principals. I was the kid that cried if they even made a little mistake that resulted in a timid chide from a teacher. As I got older, I started to realize that even though the people responsible for my education could be quite scary, they really were there to help me. One of my professors last semester even rewarded us with extra credit if we found typos in his assignment handouts. Now as a student planning to become a teacher, I can only hope that my future students think I'm right half of the time.

No. 11: Fashion matters sometimes.

Fashion is one of the easiest ways to express yourself. In middle school it often feels like your friends are judging everything you do, especially how you decide to outfit yourself. As a self proclaimed quirky dresser, it's not uncommon for me to cause some double takes. What I've learned over the years is that it doesn't matter what anyone thinks of your clothes except you. You get up and get dressed everyday for yourself. The only exception here might be for something uber professional, like a job interview. Might want to put away the knee high socks for that one.

No. 13: Animals are kinda people.

Pets have surrounded me as long as I can remember. My mom taught me to treat them with kindness countless times by her attempted bird rescues, teaching me how to lead my bucket calf with peanuts in my pocket, and letting the dog lick the peanut butter jar when it's almost empty. Animals are capable of feeling things and having emotions just how we do. One of the drawbacks of this rule is I have a deep rooted want to save every single kitten and puppy in the animal shelter. It also makes me cry a lot at cute cat videos.

Here is the complete list, including my poor spelling: