- Expect days to come that are rainy and sad and hopeless. You will have moments in time when you feel like life has nothing left to offer you and ending everything sounds like the best option possible. You’ll think about intentional car wrecks, poisoning your life, and other various ways to make life stand still for an infinite moment. Don’t. It will not be praised. It will not be beautiful. It will not be brave. It will not be selfless. It will shatter. Your family and your friends will never be the same.
- Do not post pictures with the intent of a certain person seeing. Do not tweet for the sole purpose of receiving acceptance in the form of a ‘favorite’. Do not write for him. Write for yourself. Write for others who carry the same weight as you. Write in order to change the mind of those who are broken and view the world in a negative light. Be a difference maker; don’t be selfish.
- Whenever the sporadic nights come that sleep doesn’t accompany you – it’s okay to get out of bed and be productive. Does it really matter that it’s 2:00 am? Statistically speaking, it looks like there will be other 2:00 am’s. Take a bath. Take two. Scrub the thoughts and the memories of him out of your hair. Journal your thoughts. Late night idiosyncratic thinking makes for the best creative writing. Re-read your favorite parts of your favorite book. Highlight them. Remaining restless in bed is dangerous for sad souls. Get up. Make coffee. Dance if you have to.
- Do not text him because you’re lonely and all of your friends are eating dinner with their significant others. Do not kiss him because he’s broken and you’re broken and you want to “fix” something. Do not chase him just because he’s running. Don’t try and please him at the expense of his own heart. If you want to fix something, make it yourself. He can’t save you. You can’t save him.
- Date yourself. Go bowling. Take yourself out to eat at your favorite restaurant. Order dessert. Leave your phone at home and go for a walk at the park. Take a stroll around an art museum alone. Find new hobbies and fall in love with open roads. Fall in love with yourself. It is okay to do that.
- Do not let society tell you that you can’t dress yourself up and wear bright red lipstick and be crazy with your friends. They’re the ones that know you’ll slip up and be right there behind you to catch you when you do. Friends are so beautiful. Again, don’t kiss him. Or him. He can’t save you. Look pretty, feel pretty, be pretty. (That’s totally an internal note, too.)
- Go get another piercing if that’s your thing. Get three more. Don’t listen to your dad’s opinion. (Unless he says he isn’t going to pay your tuition anymore, then you should probably listen.) You’re still going to be able to get a job. You live in your body; you have to learn to love it. Do what it takes to get to that point. Don’t beat it and bruise it into shape. Much like wearing your darkest thoughts on your sleeves, a beaten down body isn’t very beautiful, either.
- Don’t be afraid of change. The second you feel the yearning for a new city, a change of scenery – go. Whether it’s to the dock by your favorite lighthouse, the playground at the park you grew up going to, or flying to another side of the globe to live in a foreign country for a summer. Your body needs the adventure. Always. Take 200 bucks and a suitcase to the beach because, well, why not? Meet strange people and enjoy the company of people you’ll never see again. Fulfilling your hearts desires and chasing after escapades is so important. It’s okay to go for the sake of going. Plans are overrated.
- Do not whisper dishonorable, false, or vile things into your own ear. You can already rely on social media and society to shout them at you and beat them into your fragile, vulnerable souls. Be a hero. Your own hero. Keep positive thoughts on hand, good vibes in the heart, and happy smiles on your face.
- Just don’t do it. Don’t think about wrecking your world, drinking your fate, or suffocating your joy. It will not be beautiful. Breathe. It’s going to be okay. Stay up all night with a cute boy that promises you lots of pretty thoughts. Breathe. Try out all of your local coffee shops with a friend. Cook yourself breakfast for dinner — I don’t know. Make yourself happy. You know what that looks like. Wear that dress you think hugs your hips a little too tight. No one is going to care if you’re confident. It’s not always poetic to be sad. You can have the neatest, most composed and well-organized thoughts, but if they carry negative weight, your chains are going to win. There’s no beauty there. Break free. Do something differently. Go, live.