10 Things i wish i was told before i turned 18

Its hard going through life and growing up. I know the idea of growing up is figuring out how to walk without holding your mums hand and to learn from you mistakes and teach yourself how to be 'you'.

There were just, there ARE, a few things i wish i was told before i turned 18.
These may apply to you, or not, but its too late to ask to be told these things.

#1. High school are the toughest and most self building 6 years of your life. You look back on it and its painful and cringe-worthy and you cry because you miss seeing familiar faces everyday, but it was fucking hard. You were forced to be friends with kids who you either do or dont have similiar interests in. You are forced to study things which bore you and you are expected to look and feel the same as your peers. Its a zoo. You fall in love, you have a new best friend every week, and you grades will rise and plummet like your moods. The best thing about high school- it ends. You walk away with friends for life, sometimes a high school sweet heart and if you work hard enough beyond the socialising and the 'acting like you don't care'- you will get great grades to then actually be able to afford to do something you love.

#2. You heart will be broken- its okay because it will happen over and over again but hopefully someday it will be worth it. This one i haven't totally figured out myself yet, but all i know is that - it. is. okay. The world may melt and you feel like you are losing yourself to someone else, but it is better to of loved then to not have loved at all. You will grow and you will pick yourself up and dust yourself off and move on to something bigger and better.

#3. Nightclubs aren't for everyone. Personally i am one of those people. Sure it is fun once in a while to enjoy loud music and guys you dont want grinding up against you and the possible chance of getting your drink spiked. Some people- majority of people enjoy the wild night out with endless expensive drinks and loud house music and smoke machines- its their life and their escape and there is nothing wrong with that. However- just because you dont enjoy it doesnt mean you are weird or it is wrong. I like bars, secret hidden pubs with a live band playing dexys midnight runners and chugging away pints of the local beer. I like being able to hear and talk to people and have a cigarette in the corner with a bowl of wedges to munch on whilst being with friends. You will figure this out when you start going out- you will either love the city and nightclub scene, and dont get me wrong it can be fun if with the right people- otherwise you are drunk, holding your heels in a gutter waiting for a taxi that will take 3 hours to get.

#4. Joke. It may be totally inappropriate, or dull or just make no sense at all to the people around you, but it teaches you to live your life with a sense of humour. It tells everyone around you that you want to laugh and you enjoy people laughing around you. You shouts that you arent 'serious' and that although they might not understand the punchline- that you have your own wicked little world and that one day the right people will laugh with you. Hold onto those people for dear life.

#5. Being socially awkward is a thing. I never thought it would happen to me. But it happens. I cant talk to guys or 'pick up' guys when i am out. I struggle to be who i am with people who i first meet. This is okay. You are guarded and you only like to open up to people worth your while. Its normal not to want to hook up with a guy that has bought you a drink and that you dont like the way he grabs your ass when the only thing he has said to you is 'hey youre hot'. Its okay to act shy when you first meet new people, for all you know they could be the worlds biggest assholes and you are doing yourself a potential favour. You will eventually open up and be yourself- just as long as you know that it is okay to feel nervous and quiet- you will be fine. It happens to everyone, not everyone is open and bubbly at first sight.

#6. You will resort to coffee. Here i sit with a coffee in my hand struggling to keep my eyes open to start another work shift. It has become the ultimate best friend in times like this. Although you may hate the taste when you are young, it grows on you. Add a sugar here or two, it will become your most desired beverage that you may even want one at night. This little baby will help you through exams, work shifts, early morning flights, calm you down and also hype you up.

#7. Don't smile at security guards when getting your i.d checked. They either think you are trying to sweet them up and therefore must have a fake i.d or you have either had too much to drink and are trying to act sober. The second one may be partially true, but you never want to be rejected entrance into a club and see all your friends go in. Just don't smile, don't do it. I could be stone cold sober and smile at a security guard when getting into a club and they will ask me how much i've had to drink. That was the line...they get nothing from me anymore. Just look at my age and photo and i am out of there.

#8. Don't be a pussy. Go out. Get up. When your friend calls you and you are in your pyjamas and they want you to go have a few drinks somewhere or they want to go to a movie, go. These are the moments that will make your teenage years. Never forget, that nights and days that are unplanned and your last minute decisions tend to be the best times of your life. True Fact!

#9. Don't set your favourite song as your alarm. This is a scientific fact because when we associate something we love with a miserable mechanism such as an alarm- we will learn to despise it.
We hate waking up, and therefore the alarm is to be blamed and if your alarm song is some katy perry song that you absolutely adore- you are going to want to murder her in a weeks time. So do yourself a favour- if you really like a song, leave it alone, use the default alarm noise and go about your day.

#10. Dont give up. Dont give up on uni or your diet or your best friend. Dont give up on something you cannot go a day without thinking or living without. It is easy to admit defeat but it is harder to keep your head strong and continue on. The easy road will get you nowhere, but with a bit of sweat and tears, your outcome will be accomplished and well earnt. You wont get that degree or your 'summer body' by sitting back with your feet on the couch. Life is hard, get used to it. Giving up is shit, it really is. It shows that you dont have the strength nor the admiration to continue on doing something you love. If you dont love what you do - or what you are aiming for, sure dont do it. But if you love it? I dont see why you would want to give up on something like that.

Thats all for now bloggers,
These are half of the things i wanted to post, maybe i will do another 'things i wish i was told' rendition soon!  x