First, Love: Lily's Guest Blog Post

Do you know what is absolutely terrible? Waking up on Friday with a big smile on your face, brewing a cup of coffee, and planning for the long weekend ahead... only to discover that it is not, in fact, Friday. It's Thursday. You don't get to sleep in tomorrow, because you have to make it to your English class. You don't get to lollygag and wear your pajamas all day; you have to get dressed and ready for lots of learning. What a bummer. I really enjoy school, but I like sleeping better. Who's with me?

Thankfully, after an extremely disappointing start to this It-Is-Not-Friday-Yet Thursday, quite a few wonderful things happened. Firstly, the weather was absolutely phenomenal -- sunny, with a cloud-dotted sky -- which meant my lovely little friend group could eat lunch outside! Another great thing that happened today occurred in la clase de matemáticas. In the middle of class, my friend Gwen mentioned the television show "Hole In The Wall." Our teacher, Mrs. Kitchen, was very interested in said show. So what did she do? She looked up video excerpts of "Hole In The Wall," had our class watch them for a solid ten minutes, and finally pronounced that she is now obsessed. If you ask me, it was highly entertaining, and a far better use of class time than reviewing exponential decay. But the best part of today happened not even half an hour ago: my dear friend, Lily, let me know that her guest blog post was ready for publishing! 

Let me tell you some things about Lily. If you ever have sardines for lunch and desperately need a piece of cinnamon gum, Lily will have one. She's good like that. Lily also wears these amazing Dr. Martens with a rose pattern, and a whole lot of ripped black jeans. She's quirky, has a great sense of humor, and is one of my best friends. She also happens to be quite a marvelous writer. I'm so happy to present you with her guest blog post today. It's quite personal to her, and is a testimony to how much she has grown (as both a person and a writer) over the course of this school year. I'm immensely proud of her. And without further ado, I'll hand this blog post over to Lily:

Hey, friends of the Avocado and Me! I’m Lily and (if you can’t tell,) I’m writing this blog post. I’ve never done one of these things before, so bear with me. Alright, shall we get to it? Please buckle your seat belts and refrain from any video or audio recording with those cell phones of yours.

Initially, many, many months ago, when Maya first asked me to write this guest blog post, I had a few ideas. I could write about swimming because it’s an exercise I love. I could write about Spanish, 'cause I love that too. I could write about my fantastic friends or my annoying little sister, 'cause I love those people so freaking much. Yet over the past months (...what has it been… six or so?? Wow… talk about time flying), I’ve learned a lot about the concept of love, and how it extends well beyond sports, languages and friends.

If you know anything about high school (which I blame entirely for my delay in writing this blog post. Curse you, AP homework), you know that it’s often a high-stress, very hormonal environment -- wow, could I be the writer of the next Mean Girls or what??!! -- where we teenagers go for seven plus hours a day to do school work, get homework, get MORE homework, go home, wash, eat, sleep, repeat. But you also know it’s also the place for a lot of firsts. First time waking up at five A.M. to finish homework you didn’t finish the night before (now that’s fun), first cars, first AP exams, first free periods; the whole shebang. Then, of course, come the ever expectant first relationships, first kisses, first heartbreak. First love.

The past year I was in my very own first relationship. It came with those butterflies in my stomach and those few terribly awkward minutes of a first date. Yet, beyond those sparse nerve-wrecking minutes, I was able to learn and grow as a person. I learned how to be in a relationship. I learned what it was like to care for a person and have them care for you. I think, ultimately, this is what I am most grateful for.

At first, when the relationship ended, I felt shattered. The butterflies had completely migrated out of my stomach. I wanted to sit in bed, cry, and eat Butter Pecan ice cream from Sweet Cow 'til the end of the world. But instead, I picked myself up and went on to learn the most important lesson of the whole ordeal: You do not need someone to love you to love yourself. The first few weeks after being broken up with, I kept saying things to myself like, “this is the reason she broke up with me…” (etc., etc.) and telling myself I wasn’t beautiful anymore, just because no one was calling me beautiful. Then it dawned on me that I wasn’t being very kind to myself -- no, screw that -- I was being plain horrible to myself. When I looked in the mirror I didn’t see the smiling girl I had seen mere months ago. I didn’t see myself as the beautiful human I am, all because I thought if no one saw me that way, I couldn’t either.

A few weeks ago I was sitting with a friend who told me she was worried that she was going to be the only sophomore who had never kissed anyone. She had just been broken up with, and like I had, was feeling less than. I find it very strange that this seems to be the inherent reaction to a breakup. Why is it that we stop loving ourselves the moment others stop caring for us? I truly don’t know the answer to this question, but I think that it is important that we never stop loving ourselves, regardless of the situation.

So here is the moral of this story, dear readers. First, before anything at all, love yourself. I don’t care how cliche it is, I am going to say it another time. FIRST, love yourself. Wear that crop top because you are stunning. Your acne does not make you ugly, your face is just a reminder that you are kicking puberty’s ass and looking like a god while doing it. Your personality, mind, and heart are beautiful. Who cares if you haven’t kissed anyone, haven’t been in a relationship? That doesn’t make you any less of a person. Remember that you are gorgeous, that you are handsome, that you are doing the best you can. With that, I thank you for reading this blog post, and implore you to first, love yourself.

- Lily

Thanks so much for reading today, you lovely human being! Lily and I were so happy to have you. Have a brilliant rest of your Thursday! 

Love,

Lily (with a little preamble from Maya ツ)

Photo by Maya, Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash, Photo by Vance A. on Unsplash, 

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash, Photo by Clem Onojeghuo on Unsplash, 

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash, Photo Sourced From Lily