First off, happy new year! I realize you haven’t heard from me in a while and I’m so glad to be back! I hope your 2018 was a year full of wonderful memories! This past year has been a whirlwind full of new opportunities, new friendships, and many ups and downs. On January 1st, 2018, I was a totally different person than I am now. 365 days later, the way I see myself and those around me has changed drastically. Here are ten lessons I’ve learned in 2018.
Lesson 1: To start, I’ve learned that I’m never going to be able to please everyone. No matter how hard I could try, there will always be people who don’t like me. The people in my life right now that are criticizing me don’t have power over my choices unless I let them have it. You can’t please ‘em all, so stop trying.
Lesson 2: I learned that my voice has power. Using your voice can affect more than you know. I joined JSA this year, Junior State of America, and I went to the JSA Fall State Convention. Through this organization, I was able to engage in discussions about important issues, such as the #MeToo Movement, border security, and the drinking age. I formed my own opinion on things and was able to educate and be educated. I got to talk about something I'm very passionate about, feminism, during a thought talk on if feminism is necessary for today’s society. I realized that although I'm just a freshman in high school, I can still use my voice for good. I also have grown a lot through my blog Genuinely Saylor. Each of my captions on Instagram sends a positive message to my followers, and sometimes I talk about issues I'm very passionate about.
Lesson 3: I learned to trust in my friendships. This past year has also had its rough patches. I had many experiences that I wouldn’t have been able to get through if it weren’t for my close friends and family. I realized that something positive did come out of the bad things that have happened in my life: I appreciate and trust the strength of my friendships so much more.
Lesson 4: I learned that style is meant to evolve. I look back and see a girl who knows her style and is happy with her sense of fashion. I also look back and think what the hell was I thinking. Some of the things I wore horrify me. But I realized that years from now I will probably look back and think the same thing about my current style. I can’t judge my style of the past, no matter how embarrassing, because if it weren’t for my decisions in the past I wouldn’t be where I am today. I’m also not a fashion expert now, and I'm not a professional makeup artist. But I wear what makes me feel good, and that’s all that matters.
Lesson 5: An incredibly important lesson I learned is to let things go. It’s never healthy to hold grudges. I tend to get over most things rather quickly, but things that hurt the most cause me to hold grudges. I realized that the quicker I let things go the more my life will improve. It’s okay to forgive and not forget.
Lesson 6: I learned that I need to manage my time more wisely. It can really hurt if you spend 2 hours redecorating your room instead of working on your schoolwork. I am definitely getting better, but my time management is something that I plan to continue improving on forever. I am working on prioritizing, something that I really struggle with.
Lesson 7: One of the most critical things I learned in 2018 is that being the bigger person is always the way to go. It may be the harder path, but it's always the best path to take. Your treatment of others reflects directly on your character. No matter what someone has done to you, you should still treat them the same way you wish to be treated.
Lesson 8: I learned that no matter what, I must always be an upstander. I know it seems scary to stand up for others because it means you could get hurt too. But it is so worth it. The impact you have when you simply stand up for someone who can't stand up for themselves can be life-changing. Say someone has been rude to your friend. Don’t make the excuse of “I don’t want to get in the middle of it.” Standing up for someone is not the same as “getting involved”, because standing up for someone is stopping the situation from continuing. We all have the strength to stand up for others, it just takes the challenge of realizing we have it to actually do it.
Lesson 9: Another really important thing I learned this past year is that when I stand strong and am open in my belief for gender equality and the importance of feminism, I'm helping others. The number of people who aren’t fully educated on the issue of gender inequality is astounding. Use your voice to not only empower, but educate.
Lesson 10: The last thing I learned in 2018 is social media can affect more than you know. This is the most important and tough lesson I learned in 2018. There are many pros to social media, like self-expression, communicating with people around the world, sharing creativity, advocating for different causes, etc. There are also many cons, such as validation from numbers, fomo, cyber-bullying, etc. It’s really tough to be genuine in a superficial world. It’s tough to not want to edit your teeth, or your acne, or how tan you are. I got Instagram in seventh grade when I still thought that if it wasn’t holographic, it wasn’t for me. I also thought mom jeans looked good with an athletic top. Let’s just say that I'm proud of my roots but I’m glad my style has grown. I’m going to be very honest and vulnerable right now. The more I used Instagram, the more I paid attention to likes and comments and views and followers. The more these trivial numbers started to count, the less healthy my social media usage became. I started to validate myself off of “how much” not off of who I really am. Even when I started my blog, a blog ABOUT SELF-CONFIDENCE, I still cared about these numbers. I spent hours on my phone each day until it started to show in other aspects of my life. My parents and I decided at the beginning of freshman year that we were going to pull the plug. A few breaks here and there showed that I still needed to be off of social media. My last post on my blog, @genuinelysaylor, was on November 4th, 2018. I stopped using social media and only posted on major events on my personal account. I realized something during this time. Social media and online presence only play a big role in my life if I let it. I no longer validate my self off of numbers, because I am so much more than a number. And you are too. Social media is good for specific things, but if you find yourself spending your life online, take a break. You won’t be missing anything, because the moments that count are the ones you spend in real life with your friends and family. Everything doesn’t have to be a post.
I hope you enjoyed the ten lessons I learned in 2018, and that you had a year full of reflection and growth also! I really want to say thank you to all of you guys who follow my Instagram blog and website! You guys make my day with your support and I still can’t believe that my blog has grown from nothing to something that I can use to spread a message I believe in. I love you all!
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