Advice to Myself Before Meeting the Cult

Life is hard. The teenage years are especially hard. You feel alone. Unloved. Undeserving. Unattractive.

The future seems daunting. How can you know which road to take?

Having lived long and having made many mistakes, let me offer you some advice.

Expand your horizons. Join clubs. Try new things. Develop an interest in others. Engage with people. Go to school dances. Allow people into your life. Spend time talking with your parents and grandmother. Reach out and make friends.

Cultivate an interest in your studies and excel. Of all the billions of people on the earth, you are lucky to have the opportunity to get a good university education. Do it.

Listen to those who are much older than you. They have lived long enough to have made many mistakes and most likely have learned from them. You can benefit from their experience.

Drugs and alcohol are methods of escape from reality and can lead down a dangerous road. Don’t let them take over your life. Learn to face difficult situations and see them as challenges. By doing so, you will grow in maturity and strength of character.

When conflicts arise, and they will, set your emotions aside and teach yourself to look at the situation rationally. Work together with the other party to lay out your individual goals and then develop a plan to reach them together. Your needs and desires are just as valuable as others’. Do not simply acquiesce. Stick up for yourself. Politely.

Don’t be afraid to change your mind if you find yourself in a bad situation or realize a decision you made was a mistake. “It is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.”

Develop boundaries. It is OK to say “no” if you don’t want to do something. Everyone doesn’t have to like you. You don’t have to like everyone.

It’s OK to make mistakes or to feel embarrassed. Everyone does. It’s not the end of the world. Get back up, learn what you can, and move on. Misake are for education, they are not food for remorse.

Volunteer to help the needy. Make yourself a person you can be proud of. You are worthy. You are smart. If you have a hard time believing that, seek out a counselor, psychologist, or therapist that you can trust and talk to them. Find a mentor.

Be aware that your brain will not be fully developed until you reach your mid-twenties and therefore you naturally have difficulty envisioning long-term consequences, so make no momentous life-altering decision until then.

Study psychology and critical thinking. These will help you in making life decisions.

You only have one life, and it will get easier. Be the best person you can be. What can you make of this life that you have been given?