School. Being a teenager. They say it's the best time of your life, but I beg to differ. Adults don't seem to realise the stress that comes with making the transition from childhood to adulthood. If you ask me, adults have a fairly comfortable life in comparison to teenagers. We have to deal with the ordeals of exams, coursework, deadlines and unecessary pressure from parents. Moreover, you develop absurd little crushes on immature boys in your class who you probably hate, but cannot control your feelings towards.

However, I think that I've had it easy so far, or perhaps the worst is yet to come. Who knows what the future brings? That's the one thing I fear; you never know what will happen tomorrow. Everything may make you go from mindblowingly fantastic to depressingly suicidal.

I don't think things will change for me; they never do. For me, life is monotonous and mundane. Even so, I find it comfortable. Nothing interesting ever happens to me and I like it that way. Normality is the best thing for someone like me. I cannot tolerate intense amounts of excitement. Hence, my friends tell me I'm 'pathetic' and 'in dire need of a life'. I have one. I'm just different, that's all. Whereas my friends would get exhilarated on getting a boyfriend, I get my thrills from watching an episode of House. I'm just different, but they find that concept too hard to accept. I'd rather occupy my time reading or writing than mindlessly chasing after men -- they're a complete waste of time and you will only end up heartbroken. Trust me, I speak from experience. I learnt the hard way, but I won't delve into that subject. It's a good lesson for life, though. Falling in love leads to trouble. Never let a boy sweet talk you because, nine times out of ten, you'll be crying on your mother's shoulder, wallowing in a river of sadness, with a Johnny Depp movie in your DVD player desperately trying to restore your faith in men.

It's not all bad, though. Maybe I'm just being melodramatic. There are people out there; there really is someone for everyone. Perhaps. I wouldn't know as I don't put myself out there that much.

You must think I'm sad, right? I mean, I complain about everything, rant about how useless men are and turn a blind eye to love. I beg to differ. I'm just a (perhaps cynical) fourteen-year-old who's wise beyond her years and is brutally honest. Life isn't always rainbows and butterflies, and the sooner you wake up and realise that, the better off you'll be in the long run. There's no point seeing the world through rose-coloured glasses, because as soon as they snap, you're not going to be able to cope. You don't want to be that naïve, little girl that everyone takes advantage of. You want to stand up and believe in yourself and your beliefs and ideas.

That nicely brings me on to my next point. I remember a phase where I was who everyone else wanted me to be...everyone apart from myself. I hated myself, to be honest, but I happily went along with it, thinking that if I pleased everyone else, it didn't matter what I wanted. But it does, you see. If you're not happy with yourself, there's no chance of being happy with life. You'll continue you play a cruel game in which you are merely a pawn.

My point is, always stick to your beliefs, and more importantly, be yourself. It's the best give you could possibly give to yourself.

And if you're yourself, other people will eventually learn to accept you for who you truly are. Don't ever deny yourself the right to be yourself. Stay true to yourself, no matter what. You are an individual and you are beautiful in your very own way.

It took me a long time to realise that, and I still don't like myself, to be honest, but perhaps that's just a phase too. I was a fool for thinking that by pleasing everyone else, life was going to be hunky-dory. Well, here's a shock for you -- it's not. Life has its ups and downs (generally more downs than ups), so you may as well be happy with yourself. At least that way you know that you're not lying to yourself. You're living life. Screw what everyone else thinks of you. Continue being who you are. If they can't accept it, they can piss off.

All of my crazy rambling has probably put you off the idea of living all together. Don't be disheartened by me, though, because it's not all depressing. Some of it's good. Like falling in love, providing you find the right person and don't go into it foolishly. Just keep your wits about you and be strong. Don't get yourself in a vulnerable position. Make sure you're in the position where (if needs be), you can turn to your partner, tell them you hate them and leave, without even having to blink back one tear.

The real lesson of all of this was to tell you one thing: be strong, independent and true to yourself.

Because at the end of the day, you can only really rely on yourself.