Things to think about in the new school year

After the challenging time for me that I call Year 9, I thought I'd just share with you what I have learnt through my experiences. This should give you something to think about when you are caught up in something that is too big for you to handle. 

• How to deal with nasty rumours

The solution to this problem is simple: just don't listen. Is a rumour being passed around your friendship group that is none of your business? If not, don't even bother thinking about it. 

The same goes for if the rumour happens to be about you. 

If the rumour is false, don't even get involved. 

If the rumour is true, then it shouldn't really be anyone's business but yours. If people around you continue to bring it up and it is getting you down, then just remind yourself that no one is perfect, and you are no exception. Other people should not be able to affect the way you see yourself, so don't give them that power. As long as you are happy with yourself, nothing else should matter. The people spreading these rumours obviously have nothing better to do with their lives, which is pretty sad. But that doesn't mean you have to sink to their level.

In the words of Mean Girls's Aaron Samuels:

"Stupid girls make up rumours because they're bored of their own lives"

• Friendship problems or school work?

Always pick school work. I assure you that no friendship problem is going to get worse just because you choose to work on that history project or whatever it is that you're supposed to be doing. This is especially relevant if you are approaching an exam or test. During the next year, I will be preparing for GCSEs (big British exams), and I am definitely not going to get distracted by who said what about who. (I will probably get distracted by some book or whatever instead as I am an easily distracted person but you get my point) :P

• Taking care of yourself

You can study all you want, but nothing comes before your mental health. Your mind will always be occupied by other things if you have an unresolved issue in your life. Don't get caught up in too many things at a time, especially if these things include other people's problems. It is fine to help out a friend in need, but if you end up struggling to keep on top of things, your friend obviously needs to seek help elsewhere, preferably some professional help if it is needed.

Remember to take a step back from everything once in a while to have a breather. 

• Sometimes you need to help other people help you

No one is a mind reader. If you are in a sticky situation and need someone to talk to, talk to someone! Your problems are not going to be resolved if you simply ignore them. Sometimes when you are panicky about something that is going on in your life it is hard to open up about things, but I promise you that things will get easy once you start talking.

• When friends stop being friends

Sometimes people do the things that we never thought they would do. It hurts (trust me, I know). But you will get through it.

It happens to the best of us, you are not alone in this. At first, it will hurt like being stabbed in the chest, but that fades. The thing to remember is that you still have all these wonderful friends around you to look out for and support you. 

That's it for today's blog post. I hope you found this useful :) Comment what you think of this style of blog post. 

Best wishes,

Lucy x

(P.S: On a separate note, If I Stay came out in UK cinemas today and I saw it with my friend, it is so beautiful. I cried more at the movie than I did the book, which I wrote a review for a while ago. If you would like to read the book review, click here. The scene I cried at the most was probably the scene where Gramps is talking to Mia and he just seems to understand Mia's situation all too well. Sooo yeah, check that out, it's great!)