What advice would you give to your younger self? What would you tell a 12-year-old about working with others, having talent, and about life in general? As many kids head back to school this month, I’ve thought a lot about my own first-day-of-school experiences.

Here’s some advice I wish the older me, or another adult, could share with a 12-year-old nicknamed Maya in 1989.

Image by TeroVesalainen via Pixabay

1. You love to read. Go with that, because you will be a writer.

For now, you read for fun and to escape the things that suck (we’ll get into that a little later). And that’s great. But reading will also help you learn about the world around you. And then you’ll write and share that information with others.

2. Be nice to your mom and dad.

They love you, but they won’t be around forever. They also know more than you’re willing to admit they know.

3. Popularity in middle school means nothing after middle school.

I like author/blogger Jon Acuff’s advice to his own kids: “Don’t chase cool. Don’t worry about popularity.”

Why? Because nobody puts “I was really cool in middle school (or high school)” on their resumé. Nobody cares about how cool you used to be.

People just want to know how you can help them. Can you help someone feel better about themselves or help a person do something better? That’s the question you need to answer. And you can start answering that question today.

4. Focus on the good things.

Right now, you have a Jheri curl and some kids tease you about it.

But you also have a family that loves you, some nice friends to sit with at lunch, and a really great best friend. Focus on these good people. Those kids who are teasing you don’t matter now, and will be completely irrelevant after the last day of this school year.

5. But, getting teased doesn’t stop after 7th grade.

If only it did, right? There will always be a small group of people teasing you. (We call them haters or trolls in the future.) It will still hurt.

But you’re already strong enough to deal with it now, and the future will only make you stronger.

That’s great news for you. It’s bad news for anyone who can’t find anything else better to do than making lame insults.

6. Be kind, even when others are being cruel.

Learning how to be compassionate, self-confident, and even funny in the midst of ridicule, prejudice, pain and other things that suck takes a lifetime to learn.

Write when life sucks. Write when things are going well. Do what you can to be nice to yourself and nice to others, even if it seems like a little gesture.

There’s already a lot of bad in this world. Add as much good as you can now.

7. And just for fun, I will give you a few future hints about your favorite music group.

First, the great news: You will go to a New Kids on the Block concert and it will be a lot of fun! The bad news, you’re going to have to wait a few…decades.

These are just some pieces of advice I would give to my younger self. Recently a few other ladies talked to current 7^th graders about what advice they would offer to their younger selves. You can check out that video, here.

If you have kids, I hope they have a great school year, whether they’re starting pre-school, another grade or going through college.

And regardless of how many kids you have (or don’t have) I hope you will also learn and grow as a writer and in other areas of your life during the next 9 to 12 months.

Have a great day, be nice to your own teachers/mentors, and play nice with the other kids!

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Did this post inspire and help you? What advice would you give your younger self? Share your advice and other comments in the comments section below.