What I Wish I Knew At Age 15

Here's everything everyone wish they knew at the age of 15. If it's good advice, hit the upvote button. The number next to it indicates the age the author wrote it at. Feel like there's something missing? Add a new message!

Hey 15 year old, Mental illness is not something to brag about or is a sign of lovable quirkiness. It's not a type of disease you idealize, as much as people shouldn't idealize cancer. Look up "romanticization of mental illnesses," on YouTube for more.

Hey 15 year old, Watch videos on Youtube on common movie tropes and stereotypes like the black guy/girl who dies first, the gay best friend, the magical negro, the nerdy Asian kid, the sassy black woman, the dumb blond girl, the dumb jock, and more to examine it all.

Hey 15 year old, If you want a free easy way to relax, look up "mindfulness activities for teens." Mindfulness is a way to become more present so you don't worry too much about the past or the future. If it's too hard, look up "mindfulness games for teens."

Hey 15 year old, If you're stressed, find a place where you can visualize a calming place for you. It can be a forest, a beach, or even something imaginary like a floating castle. Then visualize what you see, what you hear, what you touch, smell and taste.

Hey 15 year old, Sometimes the most sexist people are people of your own gender, not the opposite gender. Women get complaints from other women that they're not "feminine enough," and men get told by men to "man up," when they cry. Don't neglect this.

Hey 15 year old, Don't feel the need to compete with your own gender, on whether it's as a girl on who is the prettiest, or it's as a guy on who is the toughest. Women can lift each other up without being catty. Men can lift each other up without being gay.

Hey 15 year old, As a teenage girl, even when you're 15, there are many creeps out there. If you feel threatened in any way, carry some pepper spray, a strong flashlight to temporarily blind them, or even a stun gun. If your parents sympathize, ask them to buy some.

Hey 15 year old, If you have test anxiety, take deep breaths slowly from the belly before and during the test. (Look up "deep breathing exercises for more"). If you need to motivate yourself, look up "study affirmations," or "school affirmations" to pick you up.

Hey 15 year old, Here's a simple visualization to add to deep breathing exercises (look up "how to do deep breathing," for more details.) Slowly breathe in love, and breathe out stress. Add any colors if it helps. For example, breathe in white and breathe out black.

Hey 15 year old, Hey I am 26 years old

Hey 15 year old, When it comes to social issues and inequality, know you're never too young to make a difference. When you're older, people will tell you you're too old to make a difference.

Hey 15 year old, Whatever social issues you like to talk about on the internet, study the history of that social issue, from older times to more recent times. Frequent visits to Wikipedia is recommended.

Hey 15 year old, Just because people look confident and look sociable, doesn't mean they don't have anxiety like you. Chances are everyone is hiding their anxiety as good as you are.

Hey 15 year old, People aren't necessarily not interested in talking to you if they lack eye contact. It could mean social anxiety, autism, cultural differences, other anxiety disorders, and more.

Hey 15 year old, Not everyone wants to party during specific holidays or even their birthdays. It's okay to have a chill quiet celebration, of whatever the day is celebrating. It's fine. Don't force parties.

Hey 15 year old, If people always come to you to listen to your problems, know it's because they just want to be listened to. You don't have to offer a solution to their problems, or advice. It's OK.

Hey 15 year old, If you struggle with negative thoughts, learn to "reframe your negative thoughts." (Look up this phrase online.) How would a more optimistic person see the same situation?

Hey 15 year old, You can judge the maturity and trustworthiness of people around you by how nice they are to service people, like those in retail, restaurant workers, call center agents, & so on, so be nice.

Hey 15 year old, It's good if you're smart, and it's great if you're a genius, but know that you're not the only smart kid in existence. Chances are you haven't met enough smart people your age yet.

Hey 15 year old, You'd be surprised how much practical life advice you can find on Wikipedia. There are Wikipedia pages for love, relationships, friendship, adolescence, puberty, emotions and more.

Hey 15 year old, Different people have different tolerance levels of suffering/enduring hardships and comparing different situations is not always helpful. "Others are starving in Africa" doesn't help.

Hey 15 year old, Two less talked about symptoms of ADHD are poor mood regulation and rejection sensitivity, which means poor emotional control and extreme anxiety around rejection more than the norm.

Hey 15 year old, If you like animals and you're stressed, look up https://explore.org/livecams for live videos of animals from different places worldwide. Animals can be very healing, after all.

Hey 15 year old, If your teacher or professor doesn't want you using Wikipedia, you can go to the References section and use Wikipedia's sources. You can see it at the bottom of the Wikipedia page, and you can make use of those instead. Take a look.

Hey 15 year old, If you're one of those aesthetic book loving teens who enjoy the artistry of classic novels, you can get a lot of free classic ebooks from Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org/) if you can't afford as many books as you want to.

Hey 15 year old, Ask yourself "What does it matter to me?" the next time you find yourself judging someone for their clothing, or interests. The more you train yourself to not care about the personal preferences of other people, the more relaxed and nicer you become.

Hey 15 year old, It is important to know when to stop arguing with people, and simply let them be wrong. You don't have to waste your energy every time.

Hey 15 year old, You may not like being in pictures or taking them, but you will hate that you have no photos of some time period when you’re older. Take pictures even if it is out of your comfort zone occasionally, for your future self.

Hey 15 year old, When someone shares something about themselves, don't interrupt with a relatable story about yourself. Just listen. Better yet - ask them questions about it (without interrupting).

Hey 15 year old, If you have to make a presentation in front of a group of people volunteer to be the first one up as everyone else will be so nervous about their own presentation that they won't pay attention to yours and will more than likely forget any mistake.