I hate to break the news, but... adults and teens? We're kind of the same.

Before you slam the door in my face and scream, "NO WE'RE NOT!" read on...

When I set out to write this week’s newsletter, I was planning to use the title, 6 Truths I’d Tell My 15 Y/O Self (If only the little be@tch would listen to me). But I couldn’t pull it together - it felt a little contrived, and I honestly didn’t want to come on too strong for the teens out there. They may be riddled with disrespect and sass, but I get it - they’re a mess.

I’ve been reminded of this lately through conversations with friends who have teens, so I really wanted to reach out to that population as sort of a humanitarian effort. The only thing was, I didn’t want to outright talk to teens - one, because they wouldn’t listen (obvio), and two - because they’re not my target audience. Yet, I felt advice swelling out of my pores.

After I mulled this over, I thought about some of the truths I would’ve shared:

• Truth #1: Being a teenager is hard.

• Truth #2: People can be outright jerks. That’s why your #1 goal should be to find your people, be nice to your parents and family, and be nice to everyone because nobody likes a jerk.

• Truth #3: You’ll get disappointed in life. But also delightfully surprised. Plot twists and pivots are a part of life. Don’t worry. You’ll get through the good and bad moments.

• Truth #4: Everyone you meet is part of your life story and can help you down the road. So don’t burn bridges, and remember to keep your eyes open for clues.

• Truth #5: You don’t have to have your entire life figured out right now. Most people spend their entire lives “figuring out what they want to be when they grow up.”

• Truth #6: You’re spot on in your hatred for geometry. Most classes are painstakingly boring, and your grades in high school really don’t matter in the big scheme of things. But, sorry to tell you, these things do come into play later in life.

And wouldn’t you know, these six truths led nicely to What I’d Rather Be Talking About this week:

The advice we want to give our teenage selves actually has a bit more mileage than we realize.

That’s because, as teenagers and adults, we tend to worry about similar things.

The only difference is that, as adults, we realize that those challenges are part of life - not personal attacks. (As our teen selves once believed.)

And the cool thing is we can rise above those challenges by understanding that everything is happening for us, not to us.

We’ve got this.

Since I’ve probably just opened the portal to potentially disturbing teen memories, I’ll leave you to your thoughts… or some healthy diversions.

Lots of good stuff below for you to dip into.

✌️,

Abbey

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🎧 listen 🎧

• Have you heard of Astrocartography? It’s a phenomenon that explains why certain places we visit (ahem, Spain) feel so cozy and in alignment. Fascinating talk on the topic and more on the Highest Self Podcast.

• Short on time, but still want great advice? Try the Before Breakfast podcast - episodes are just four minutes. Here’s a good one about waiting for the right opportunity instead of jumping at everything that comes your way.

• Here’s a fun podcaster that lightens things up but gets in-depth with interviews. Join Dax Shepard as he talks to Jada Pinkett Smith. (She’s got a new book, btw.)

📺 stream 🧑‍💻

If you were worried that Chucky would die off, don’t worry; there’s another season. Find out when Chucky, Season 3 premieres, and all the other shows to watch this October, hear a nerdy computer voice talk about the best Netflix movies now, and see what’s dominating Amazon Prime.

🛍️ buy 🛍️

Curious what’s on sale at the end of October? Check out the deals at Best Buy, Aldi, Costco, and Amazon. I apologize in advance if any announcer voices are annoying.

🧳 travel 🧳

If you’re thinking of traveling during the upcoming holiday season, I’ve got you covered. Find out how to get cheap flights and hotel deals. If your trip includes a European holiday market (on my bucket list), here’s what you need to pack. Speaking of markets, here are the 10 Best European Christmas Towns and the 10 Best European Christmas Markets.

🧑‍🍳 cook 🧑‍🍳

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting cold, and I want soup. All day, every day. Good thing I discovered Chloe Vegan’s Curried Carrot Soup. Or how about Yotam Ottolenghi’s herby sweet potato soup with peanuts? It’s been called “a soup for when you just want to be left alone.” (Teenagers would probably like this one.) Finally, do you notice the curry theme this week? Here’s one more you might want to try: this coconut chickpea curry dish.

🤓 nerd out 🤓

If you’re looking for geeky fun facts to share at your next dinner or around the water cooler, or if you want to prove to your kid that “you know stuff,” check out these 100 random facts.

❤️ on a serious note ❤️

While all the truths I shared above are true and relevant for all ages, I want to focus on #1 for the sake of closing this bad boy up.

Being 15 can be hard. But being (insert any age) is hard, too.

That’s why the most important thing to remember is that we’re all struggling at various times in our lives, and the best thing we can do is to always be on the lookout for people who might be in the midst of something.

Because while teens often have ways of letting you know when something’s up… we lose that ability to let it all out when we get to be adults.

Maybe there is something to be said for teen drama.

And isn’t that the truth?

Stay well, be well, and hug your teen (even if they pretend to hate it),

Abbey