Dear Thirteen Year Old

Middle school is really stressful. All of the adults in your life are probably reminding you how scary and important high school is soon to be. Not only that, but your friend groups are changing and you're trying to keep up with the popular kids and have tons of friends. These things are good, and every one does it, but it is not near as important as it seems in that moment when you're trying so hard to find the right dress for Hollyball. Getting a dress, or anything, that fits in with the other girls' things but not enough to look like you're copying them is not going to ensure that you have a good time and make good memories. What matters is that you like what you're wearing, and if you do that, I promise you will have a better time.

You will also find yourself in situations where you're expected to talk bad about people. We've all been there, and we've also done it. Let me tell you, it doesn't work out. The girl who says that she's definitely not going to tell her best friend what y'all said about that best friend is lying. Squads, crews, whatever is popular right now, are really fun until you leave out one of your friends that you know should be included. I'm not that person who's going to say that you shouldn't ever have a squad, but if you know that a girl is in your actual friend group and you leave her out, that's not going to end well for you. I know that people will talk about people, and I know squads will form, but if you feel like there's a chance something could turn around on you, stop doing that. Overall, copying what everyone else is doing isn't that fun.