What’s a Girl to Do?

By Shannon Hembree

Whats a Girl to Do?

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1094303

Pssst…I was so not cool in high school.

When I arrived on campus for my freshman year, I had a haircut that was at least 20 years outdated, my clothes looked like something out of Little House on the Prairie, and I had braces to boot. If I were a celebrity, they would pull my yearbook photo from my freshman and sophomore years to go for maximum shock value on my E True Hollywood story. Either that or those pictures would earn me some serious slushie facials on Glee.

The reality is, I had no idea who I was. I was insecure beyond measure, I had parents who were headed for a rocky divorce, and I found it impossible not to take it personally when negative comments or criticisms came my way. In short, it was more or less like a lot of teenage girls’ high school experience.

Combine that with the soul-crushing madness of trying to navigate the dating scene, the unrelenting pressure to get into a good college, and the seemingly impossible task of trying not to go crazy in the process. When faced with all of this you have to wonder, what’s a girl to do?

As complicated as junior high, high school, and college (and life, truth be told) are, part of the answer is relatively simple. When you find good friends, keep them. And, when it is your turn to be a friend, be a good one.

Friends are a great support system. They are the ones who lift you up when you are down and who celebrate your accomplishments – both big and small. True friends are there in good times and bad, and they appreciate you for all of your quirks (and trust me, we all have quirks). They don’t try to change you, or pressure you, or get you to do anything else that isn’t “you.” And what a gift that is.

I was flipping through one of my high school yearbooks when I saw a note a friend had written me. It said, “I love ‘ya just the way you are and don’t forget that!” Every girl needs a friend like that, and every girl should be a friend like that.

So take today not only to give yourself a little TLC and remind yourself that you really are wonderful and unique just the way you are, but also to tell your friends how much you appreciate them. Chances are, it is your friends, and not the utter madness of your teenage experience, that will stick with you for years – and even decades – to come. And again, what a gift that is.

Tags: college, friends, high school, insecure, junior high