17 Lessons I Learned the Hard Way in 2017

Sometimes you have to make mistakes to learn something that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life. Learning the hard way sucks, but it often is much more effective. Here’s what I learned last year through many bad decisions, tears, and confusion:

1.  If you’re hurt by the way a friend treats you, talk to him or her. Those who truly care will fix it. 
2. If you’re being berated or bullied by someone, whether it’s a stranger or the local jackass, stand up for yourself. If they don’t realize that what they’re doing is wrong, they’re an utter idiot. Don’t pay attention to them and instead focus on the people who build you up. 
3. If your crush doesn’t make a move within a couple months, make the move yourself or move on.
4. Even if they only have good intentions, your coaches sometimes don’t know what’s best for your body- if you’re sick, you need to fully recover before getting back out there. It’s best in the long run.
5. Call your friends before you make any rash decisions, especially if you’re sad and might not know what’s best for you. 
6. Instead of wasting the day moping around, keep yourself busy and get your mind off whatever is bringing you down.
7. Crying isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength.
8. Sometimes it’s better to do the whole project yourself than to wait for your group members to come around.
9. If he says he doesn’t want anything serious, don’t expect him to change his mind.
10. Don’t spend your whole vacation missing your friends. They’ll be there when you come back.
11. Get your homework done the day break starts so you can be free for the rest of it.
12. Don’t expect your first SAT score to be anything close to what you want as your final one.
13. Learn to love yourself first.  You can’t love someone until you truly love yourself.
14. Sometimes the person your naive teenage self thought was the one is anything but the one. Accept that you were wrong and that people change. 
15. Different families have different financial opportunities. Just because everyone else’s family can afford to buy them a car, doesn’t mean you should feel like less of a person because your family can’t. 
16. When you get the chance to go to a historic place, do your research first and you will be so much more interested when you get there. You’ll actually learn instead of just getting artsy pictures.
17. Know the difference between asking too much of someone and not getting the love you deserve.