Seventeen things I learnt while I was 17

So it's pretty close to my birthday now and I've been spending a little bit of time thinking about the things I've done and learnt over the past year. It's quite scary that I'm going to be eighteen in just a couple of days - an adult! But nothing will change really. I'm still me and I'm not going to suddenly mature or become and less crazy. I just thought it would be a good idea to write about what I've learnt from my mistakes so that you don't make them too!

1. It doesn't matter how long you spend apart, your true friends will make it seem like you've always been together

2. Sometimes being selfish isn't really a bad thing. At times you need to take a break; have a rest and take some time for yourself.

3. When it seems that everything around you is changing it doesn't mean that you have to too. It's okay to hold on to who you are now for a bit longer because there'll be something else that isn't changing 

4. You are allowed to say no. I often take on too much and I know that this will never change; especially not overnight. I love helping other people and take on huge numbers of tasks to do this but saying no doesn't make you a bad person

5. You're an average of the five people you spend the most time with. I'm mostly happy with mine, are you? 

6. I'm an INFJ, the rarest personality type apparently. But reading up on it explains a lot.

7. I really, really love maths. But not odd numbers, and 7 is an odd number. Obviously I already knew that 7 is an odd number. Okay, shut up Kathryn.

8. There's always someone in the world in worse circumstances than you. But that does not belittle your problems or make them unimportant. There might be over 7billion people in the world, but you are a very important one of them

9. The average high school kid nowadays has the same level of anxiety as a psychiatric patient from the 1950s. Now you try and tell me that mental illness is all made up, or the sufferer is to blame!

10. When people ask you difficult questions be honest. They wouldn't have asked if they didn't care or want to know the answer.

11. Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise. Obviously a useful one for a pub quiz. But who are we to tell the aliens on Venus that their planet spins the wrong way. Or their clocks do.

12. You can be a completely different person when you're with different people. That doesn't make you fake or a pretender, different people just bring out your different characteristics and the different sides to your personality.

13. You can't cry in space because there's no gravity so doing it here is okay. Blame gravity.

14. Colouring is quite honestly one of the most relaxing things I've ever done

15. Don't worry about letting other people down, because if you do you'll just let yourself down

16. Asking for help isn't admitting weakness; it shows true strength that you're willing to admit that you are struggling and to look for assistance 

17. There is always hope, even when you think you've hit rock bottom. You know that the only way is up and things will get better and it doesn't matter how good yesterday was, today can be better! That's how I know that the next twelve months will bring me both awful times and fantastic ones. But I'll fight my way through the tough times just to be able to  reach the good ones!

Keep sming,

Kathryn x