so the other day, when i re-discovered kid president and went on a little youtube spree of watching his videos (i mentioned him in my favorite things last week), i came across this video…

in the video he gave a challenge to bloggers, youtubers, and really anyone else in the world to write about what the kids need to know. inspiration struck, and i thought i’d take him up on the challenge!

what the kids need to know

dear kids,

there’s some good and bad here. life can be a pretty tough place, and it’s not all smiles and sunshine, but i’m a firm believer that the rough spots contain some special bits of light of their own that make everything simply awesome. so here’s what ya gotta know!

forgive. sometimes people don’t behave exactly how you’d like them to. actually, people usually don’t behave exactly how you’d like them to. but life sits so much better when you shake things off, let it go, and move on. hard feelings just rot and turn moldy until they creep into even the far corners of your life. and moldy corners are just gross!

give people the benefit of the doubt. you never know exactly what someone else is going through, so i’ve found that it’s always best to forge ahead and accept people without questioning. yup, this is a hard one, especially when the world tells you that it’s a waste of time to make excuses for people, but i’ve found that when i do make those excuses, it always pays off.

read. a lot. pick up a book, any book, and just try it out! the value of a good, solid book is slowly diminishing as we speak. reading will open up your world and stretch your dreaming-mechanisms to the farthest corners of the sky and beyond in a way that is so uniquely enriching. reading books has made me a better writer and a much more open-minded person.

do what you love. search out what you are passionate about in life and chase after it. just do what makes you happy!

find the happiness. i pinkie promise you, it’s there. the entirety of what i write in this blog could be essentially boiled down to this one idea {for example, this post, this post, this post, my “about” page, and this post}, so i won’t dwell on it too long, but just trust me on this. at times you may have to do some digging, but those gold nuggets of goodness will always turn up.

eat the cookie dough. because cookie dough is delicious. maybe i really shouldn’t be telling you this, because i doubt that salmonella poisoning is very fun, but i haven’t gotten sick yet, so i’d venture that most of the time you’re probably safe. just do it.

life is a party. some pretty crazy things happen in life, let me tell ya! life is weird, and fun…and it’s just simply a party! complete with fireworks and presents and lots of celebration! dance and sing at the top of your lungs and laugh until your sides hurt as long as the party lasts.

you. are. awesome. people don’t give you guys half enough credit! i teach a bunch of you kids piano lessons, and you’ve got more up in your heads than adults like to admit. you are smart, and unique, and capable. don’t ever forget that.

so, yes, the world is tough. it will make you work and sometimes cry. but it will also make you happy. so, so, so happy. this life isn’t always picture-perfect, but it is blessed. remember that.

i wish you all the best, and lots of smiles and magic!

sincerely,

tessa

what do you think the kids need to know?