Looking back...

Now that I am officially in my "30's" I figure I must be older and wiser now (at least than I was in my teens). Looking back, here is some advice I would give to "teen-age Allison"...

1) Bleaching your hair white-blond will not look good. Especially if you do it yourself. Also, your roots will look horrible. The pictures will haunt you for years to come.

2) Be yourself. Don't worry what everybody else is or is not doing.

3) The following trends are extremely ugly. Please refrain from wearing: HUGE jeans, white eyeliner, skin-colored lips, glitter on your face, butterfly clips, black mini-skirts with shorts attached, platform flip flops and super-flare REALLY low-rise jeans. Oh and sequin tube tops.

4) Try harder in your classes in high school and opt for some challenging classes. All you really have to worry about now is school. Make the most of it. Running the student store and weight training are NOT challenging classes.

5) It is NOT a good idea to drink an entire water bottle filled with vodka. Particularly when you are 15-years-old and weigh 100 pounds. You will get sick and throw up everywhere. Then, the next morning...mom will wake you up early to go hiking. (I still wonder if she knew I was REALLY hungover)?

6) Value the friendships you have now...don't take anybody for granted. Keep in contact with old friends as you grow-up.

7) Running away from the police during a snow storm is NEVER a good idea. It can only turn out one way. Badly.

8) Appreciate and spend time with your family.

9) Eating healthy does not include consuming a large diet Coke and a bag of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies for lunch. In fact, stop drinking soda now. Later, you will have LOTS of cavities due to this habit.

10) Enjoy being young, not having to worry about anything (other than what is going on this weekend), and learn from your experiences, whether they be positive or negative.

And that, "teen-age Allison" would be the advice I would have given you looking back at what life was like back then.

Not to say that this same advice could not be applied today as well...so if I find myself wearing white eyeliner or losing contact with old friends, I will remember what I would have told myself as a teen and do the same now.