Bringing Mae Flowers

I have two nieces who are navigating the complexities of highschool.

Most of us remember our teenage years as being some of the best and worst years of our lives. Hormones are raging, classes become more difficult, relationships become more complex, and adults put higher expectations on you. All of this before your brain has fully finished development. Even in the best of times, being a teenager is difficult.

Who can you go to for advice?

There are some things you can’t talk to your parents about the same way you can talk to a friend. Even if you love and trust your parent’s, there are some subjects that are too ackward to breech, and not everyone has a older sibling to turn to. Some teens end up turning to social media for advice, which can have truly disasterous results. Trusted adults are a scarce, and often undervalued, resource for children and teens.

I try to be the aunt I didn’t have.

I didn’t have an aunt for a neightbor I could turn to for advice. While I am lucky enough to have sisters, in many ways, they were just as inexperienced as me. Knowing how much I had to learn through trial and error, I try to spare my nieces from that experience. In short, I give them the advice that I would have given myself.

What’s that advice?

1. You don’t have to have it all figured out now.
2. It’s better to try and fail than to never try anything new.
3. Both struggle and support are necessary for growth.
4. Accountability is one of the most important, and undervalued, skills you can develop.
5. Treat others how you want to be treated, and treat yourself how you treat the people you love.