I remember thinking I had all the answers starting from about the age of 14, I was pretty confident for a 14-year old because I truly did think I had life figured out, but little did I know what life had in store for me. I am writing this because I wish I had an older sister at that age, holding my hand and guiding me through my teenage years but I had to figure things out on my own, which I don’t mind terribly but it would’ve been a bonus if I did have an older sister by my side, teaching me right from wrong. Ofcourse, I had and still have my loving parents, but I think we can all relate to the fact that when you’re a teenage you don’t exactly share all your secrets with your mom and dad.

So thus, began the journey of my teenage life. Here’s what I would tell teenage Reem:

1. You don’t have to be perfect. Don’t strive for perfection, strive to be the kindest and best version of yourself as you can be.

2. You don’t need many friends, quality over quantity baby.

3. You’ll be okay eventually, life will figure itself out and so will you, things will start to fall into place and its okay to mess up, it’s okay to have bad grades it’s okay to fail, failure means you’re one step closer to success.

4. Heartache is a part of life, keep going and keep living because life is full of wonderful surprises.

5. Losing friends will help you grow, yeah I know it sucks when you’re a teenager but have a little more faith in god’s plan, he’s got your back.

6. It’s okay that you have thick eyebrows, they might be on trend in a couple more years.

7. Walk away from friendships that you know in your heart are toxic.

8. Let your life revolve around you and only you, make yourself a priority.

9. Friends come and go but family stays forever.

10. Don’t compare yourself to others.

11. Be easy on yourself. Some day’s will be harder than others and that’s completely alright because that’s part of the process, if you see someone getting bullied don’t join in because everyone else is doing it, be kind to everyone and kindness shall find it's way back to you.

12. You’re pretty cute, someday you’ll grow into your features but for now don’t worry about it.

13. Not studying doesn’t make you cool. Study your bum off please!

14. To be successful, you gotta put in the effort right now so you can take it a little easy in the near future.

15. You have so much life to live still, don’t worry about not doing everything you want to do yet. Your parents are on your team and they love you more than words can express, love them more and hug them more often, if you’re grounded then so be it, you’ll hang out with your friends next time, trust that your parents have your best interest at heart.

16. Adventure awaits.

17. Your BEST years are ahead of you and you don’t even know it, this is merely part of the journey, the life and adventure and laughter that you will experience at university and beyond will outweigh everything you're feeling now!

18. Don’t hate on your thick curly hair, I know it seems tedious and just a lot right now but I promise you someday you will be so grateful that you have thick curly luscious hair!

19. Your body will change and that’s completely okay, learn to love it and to love yourself, your beauty within is what will shine through and it’s always your soul that people will gravitate towards. Tell yourself you’re beautiful more often.

20. I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I was so harsh on you and didn’t give you the love that you needed to grow and evolve into the best version of yourself, but rest assured that the universe always has our back even when we find that hard to believe, you will soon live life to the fullest and begin your journey of self-discovery and finding your purpose in life.

- THE ROO INK