Meet old Duriba.
Here’s the cold, hard, truth: I’m not particularly fond of the person I used to be. Although I always had my circle of friends, never lacked guidance from my parents, or ever had issues growing up, I’ll say it like it is: I was a brat. I was like The Clique’s Massie Block, except instead of having a cute pug named Bean, I had a Webkinz named Dotty, dressed as the embodiment of Malala Yousafzai meets Heidi Klum (except more Malala then Heidi), and I had no preppy love interest that smelled like Drakkar Noir.
Point is, we’ve all done some weird stuff that we realllyyyy wish we could take back, but hey, that’s life. The mistakes we make in the past, like trimming our eyebrows behind locked bathroom doors standing on barstools with safety scissors, teach us that sometimes the only way to overcome obstacles is to drag ourselves through them.
Anyway, if I somehow wake up in a sci-fi movie where I build a time traveling device with Tony Stark and Dr. Bruce Banner, am able to walk in ankle boots, be a fit spy, and talk with a french accent, I would do quite a lot of things...
Firstly, I would zap into that device and blast back to 2008, where a ten year old Duriba is humming a Jonas Brothers song to herself while painting her fingernails a hideous shade of bubblegum pink. I would begin by snatching the bottle out her hands and tossing it out of the window, then I would sit down with her and explain a couple of things, beginning with why its not okay to wear Aeropostale hoodies with every. stinking. outfit.
I would also explain to her that making other girls feel bad, for whatever reason, is not acceptable. That life isn’t always a competition, and that its okay if she isn’t the most popular little diva around, and that it’s totes okay if her bowl cut isn’t the roundest.
I would also elucidate the concept of the entire male species in three words: it’s never worth it. She needs to know that worrying about guys, especially at such a young age, (in a romantic sense) is useless. Just because Hannah Montana is deciding between Jake and Jesse doesn’t mean that she too needs the number of “baes” that is the square root of 4 (Here at [Being]Duriba, we care about your education. Also, your brown parent may or may not have sponsored this ad).
I would advise her to keep a few, close, friends not worry so much about what others think and to read more, explore more, and save her money bc i am hella broke right now forreal like I need a tripod ok so what the heck bruh r u forreal like srsly.
Long story short, we all do weird things. I’ve done A LOT of things I’m not proud of in the past, but that’s besides the point. I’m here today, and I’m totally NOT the same person. Since the age of 12, I’ve matured from awkward tween to awkward teen, and have had to adapt to learning things the hard way. I’ve learned about friendship, respect, limits, my abilities, my talents, my strengths and weaknesses, and you know what? That’s what life’s about, yo. If you ever feel like you’re not the same person you were a year ago, so be it! More than anything, that’s a compliment to yourself, because life is about growing as a person. By learning and deciding what we enjoy, what we despise, what attracts us, what captivates us, etc, we’re discovering who we are, and what our place in this world is. There is honestly so much you simply just don’t know about yourself yet, and it’s up to you to find out before it’s too late.