lessons i have learned
these are almost more for me, than they are for you.
1. having people just listen to you is sometimes the most helpful thing.
i. a friend, a teacher, a professional [as in a therapist], a parent, etc.
2. home isn't always a house and family isn't always blood.
3. there's nothing wrong with devotion to another person.
4. being mature beyond your years is a blessing and a curse.
i. it can be really lonely.
ii. people who are the same are hard to come by but are the most genuine and the most understanding.
iii. it makes the best conversations.
5. you can have a non-romantic soulmate.
i. not every close relationship is a friendship, romantic, or sexual. there are in betweens.
6. you never know what someone's home life really is like.
i. this is a lesson i continue to learn over and over and over.
7. sometimes, things are out of your hands.
i. you cannot blame yourself for someone else's suicidal tendencies. it is something that they deal with. they need help from professionals. and you are not to blame for that. all you can do to help them is to do your best to be there, and to try to get them help.
ii. please, do not try to be someone's help.
8. sex, drugs, and alcohol are bad. but they don't make people bad.
i. it's, unfortunately, a part of life.
ii. sex is only bad when unhealthy or without love.
iii. having sexual feelings for someone doesn't make you bad.
iv. drugs don't make someone bad.
v. drugs sometimes make us do bad things, but they do not make us bad.
vii. alcohol sometimes makes us do bad things, but they do not make us bad.
a. learn from these mistakes and try your best to make sure others don't make the same ones.
1. a side note on drugs & alcohol: don't put yourself in that driver's seat. don't let someone else get in that driver's seat.
9. do bad people exist?
10. there are a lot of people who can not get the help they need.
11. people change. they grow and evolve. sometimes into someone you don't like. sometimes into someone you love.
i. i have known someone my entire life and within the last two weeks i have seen them in drastically different lights. things change people. people change.
12. take care of yourself.
i. get enough sleep.
ii. drink enough water.
iii. eat healthy & eat enough.
iv. be kind to yourself.
13. social media is toxic to your brain. it's powerful and amazing, but know your limits. it can destroy your mental health and create addictions you didn't even know were possible.
14. you don't have to be good at art to use it as a coping method. i make a lot of bad art. and i love it.
15. parents aren't perfect. they don't know what they're doing. [do any of us really know what we're doing?] they don't always know what's right and what's wrong. you can sometimes be right, too.
16. read more books.
17. plants are good for the soul.
18. teenage drama is usually petty and immature. even if you have an opinion, stay out of what isn't about you.
i. don't say ANYTHING about anyone that you don't mind defending. imagine them finding out you said the bad thing, if you can't defend it/explain it nicely then you shouldn't say it.
19. hey, listen, war is a really horrible thing. killing a really horrible thing. let's hope somehow peace is brought to the world.
19.5:
i recently listened to logic's album everybody and i think some of the other influences in my life + the subjects of this album have altered my view on life, a little bit. here's some words i want to leave you with before the last bullet of this list.
"It is not until you have lived every human life inside of your universe that I may take you from this place. Once you have walked in the shoes of every race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, loving and hateful person, it is only then that you will understand how precious life truly is."
[https://genius.com/Logic-1-800-273-8255-lyrics]
20. snow always melts. and it will sink into the ground or slide out to the ocean. but it will be back. because water is all connected. and from the ocean, it will evaporate and become a cloud and maybe you'll see that cloud pass over the sun or it will plop itself onto your nose in the middle of the street on a rainy day. it will find its way to you again. i have a feeling that what you need will find its way to you again.