Best Advice I’ve Ever Received

Hi. My name is Rachel. I am 17 years young and have been through a lot of good and bad times. Now you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this, and truthfully I don’t know either.

When someone asks me to share an experience that I feel has changed me for good, I always resort to this one that I am going to share with you. But first I would like to start off by shouting out one of my heroes, my father. My father has been with my through every and he always gives me the best advice no matter what it is I am going through.

When I was in 7th grade, I lost one of my best friends. We were a team. We always went everywhere together and never left each others sides. Until one day he decided I wasn’t enough to fill the position as his best friend. We fought for three weeks straight. We fought over text and snapchat and instagram (and musical.ly) but looking back on it now, it was all just petty drama. It wasn’t worth crying over and making our friends choose sides.

The real reason why any of this happened is because of the lack of communication between us. I still wanted to be his friend and I know a small part in him felt bad about loosing me.

What I am trying to say is that if you find yourself fighting with your partner, your friends, or even your family members, please remember to speak your mind in person. Don’t do it behind a screen. The best advice I ever got was to talk face to face. Never do it behind a screen.

To this day I live by that. I thank my dad everyday for teaching me that you can’t be afraid of confrontation. My friend also apologized to be for what had happened and I forgave him, of course, but things obviously are not the same as they used to be. Sometimes you have to be brave and overcome these experiences in order to be resilient.

Always remember communication is key. Whenever there is something boiling up, I take a minute to think about it, wonder if it’s really worth getting mad about, then decide to call or meet up with the person I am having troubles with. This way, you avoid assuming how they feel, react, and you just get to see their facial expressions and see if they’re being sincere.

This is the best advice I have ever received and I hope you can take it along with you.