Wear sunscreen.

Over the last few days, I've become reasonably sure that my birth control is making me insane.  I can't be 100% sure of this, of course, what with all the extenuating circumstances and the lack of control group to compare to, but it has occurred to me that right about the time I stopped nursing Bug and began taking normal birth control again, I lost my mind.   Schmoopsie concurs.  (Gently.  He's learned to tread lightly around Wife: The Insane Version.)

Anyway, that's the excuse I'm going for right now for all the meltdowns I've had over the last 5 months.  Including, for example, getting all emotional on my car ride home today when I heard 100 Years by Five for Fighting.  You know, because I haven't safely heard that song like 26,000 times before. 

My younger sister will be 15 in a couple of months.  I was way older than her when I was 15. 

If I thought she'd hear me, I'd give her some advice.  I know she won't, though, not because she isn't awesome (she is) but because, after all, she's 15.  So instead, here is what I wish I would have heard at 15.  You know, because I'm old and wise and brimming with wisdom now.   It's like my version of that Baz Luhrmann song, which, coincidentally, came out just before I turned 15. 


You will regret those earrings later.
Guess what? All those other kids are just as insecure as you are.
Wear your retainer.
Listen.
Don't believe those teachers who make high school sound like it's the most important thing in the world.  They're only saying that to make you turn your work in on time.
Turn your work in on time.
Never, under any circumstances, wear a scrunchie.  EVER.
Things that are a big deal now are very rarely a big deal later.
Cheer for the Aggies.
Your freckles are not flaws.
Someday, you'll wish you were this pant size again.
Always use blue ink. 
Keep your toenails freshly painted and your heels moisturized.
Pet your dog.  She won't be there forever.
Hug your grandma.  She won't, either.
I see those socks with sandals.  Stop that.
Try peanuts in your pasta.
Take more walks.
Wear tanktops in the summer.  Someday it'll be decidedly less appropriate.
Your most important bit of make-up is mascara.  Unless you really are on a desereted island with only one thing, in which case it's clearly chapstick.
Plant some flowers.
You will never regret being overly kind.
In another year or two, you'll meet a cute boy with curly hair.  Bat your eyes.  He's a keeper.