My awkward years began at the age of 13 and lasted till I was about 16. During those three years, I felt unsure, kind of fuzzy in terms of where and how I fit in, and the bigger question, “who the heck am I?” It was also a time of physical awkwardness as I got glasses AND braces. I remember observing others and thinking of all the ways I could be just like them. The reality was, these formative years were jam packed with learning lessons, moments of weakness (=moments of growth), and provided stepping stones towards becoming who I am today.
Here are some of my Learning Lessons from My Awkward Years
1. Split-second moments transform awkward to awesome. It just may take us a while to get to that split-second moment.
2. Awkward=trying to understand how we fit in, where we fit in, and most importantly who we are. It’s about growing into ourselves.
3. Life is a game of trial-and-error: we attempt things and if they work, we continue doing them. If they don’t, we discard them and try something new.
4. Backward, Forward, Awkward. Which ‘ward’ are you going to live your life?
5. It only appears awkward from the observer.
6. What may seem forever at the moment is usually an exaggeration of actual time.
7. Be proud of your awkward years…it has shaped who you are and allows you to connect in a rather hilarious way with others who have experienced similar awkwardness.
8. I once had friends, lost my friends, and then learned to make new ones. In the process, I learned more about who I was, learned more about others, and began the journey of surrounding myself with true and genuine people.
9. “This is awkward” refers to a moment in time/feeling that something doesn’t quite fit or flow. Give what you can, take what you can, and move on.
10. If it wasn’t for my awkward years, I wouldn’t be writing this and so for every moment of awkwardness, I am grateful.
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I loved this post Joann! Cheers to awkward years forming us to who we are today. Without our past we would not be in our present and am 100% thankful for all of it number 7 and 8 spoke numbers to me!
To positivity and big picture focus.
Cheers,
J.