Ever think of your days in high school? Just “relive the glory days”? Ahhh, I can see it now. I never had a thigh gap, but my butt was a whole two inches higher. I was active in high school, so I remember volleyball games, cheerleading skirts, AP classes and driving around town and feeling “grown” with my pink fuzzy steering wheel cover. So many opportunities to do right AND to do wrong. So many hormones, makeup and sexual tension. And the drama. So. much. drama. High school was also the time that I began my love affair with mascara. Too much was never enough. After all, I bought the cheap kind.

If you’re like me, you think of the good…and the bad. I remember Homecoming and the hairspray it took to get my hair to stay like that, but I also remember my dad refusing to escort me (the queen) down the field. I remember dating football players and trying to fit in with other cheerleaders, but I also remember boyfriends cheating on me with those cheerleaders. Needless to say, the cheap mascara didn’t last through the drama of high school. We’ve all got our sad stories.

Now that I’m older and wiser, I know what I -and possibly you- need (other than a good mascara).

One thing ladies: to forgive ourselves. And not just for high school. We need to forgive ourselves for dating that guy, for eating too much, for eating not enough, for over plucking our eyebrows, for not speaking up when others did you wrong, for buying silver eyeshadow (Puh-leeze), for not asking for help, for blaming yourself, for not loving yourself-for everything. Create a safe space for yourself and admit your faults. Start the journey of introspection, and then truly FORGIVE! Turn it into an event if you have to. I had to. I made a list AND a scrapbook. A scrapbook, ladies.

So light those candles, put on the sad music, write in a journal, find a good book, let your walls come down for a minute so that you can get in there and clean up. Let yourself off the hook; we’re all just winging it, especially in high school! And try to do it quicker each time. Because, newsflash, you will have to constantly forgive yourself because you will still screw things up, ranging from dinner to relationships. Dealing with the past helps you get through to the future. And it helps you to get to another step…forgiving others. That’s another post though.

Some of my favorites!