{"id":2436,"date":"2019-02-18T10:16:40","date_gmt":"2019-02-18T10:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/?p=2436"},"modified":"2023-02-14T12:49:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T12:49:00","slug":"dear-younger-me-life-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear younger me: Life lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Imagine if you could go back in time and know then what you know now. Wouldn\u2019t it be great?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the last month, teens in care and care leavers from all over the UK have been taking part in our #dearyoungerme campaign by writing postcards to their younger selves. They&#8217;ve shared some wonderful, inspiring and heartfelt messages, words of encouragement, and advice &#8211; all the things they wish they\u2019d have known earlier. Their messages touch on a wide range of themes, including relationships, confidence, stigma, education and mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here is a selection of the best postcards below around the theme of &#8216;life lessons&#8217;.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>There are going to be so many things that are going to happen in my life. I&#8217;m going to lose people, have my heart broken, and make loads of silly mistakes and feel low. But just remember, you&#8217;re beautiful, and much better than you think.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"727\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-1.jpg 727w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-1-320x179.jpg 320w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-1-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Don&#8217;t worry, everything is ok, turn that frown upside down, everything will be fine. I&#8217;ve been where you are now and I got through it. You can too.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"727\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-2.jpg 727w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-2-320x179.jpg 320w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-2-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>I know it&#8217;s hard but keep calm and don&#8217;t run away, take drugs and alcohol. Respect your carers, be careful who you mix with.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"727\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-3.jpg 727w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-3-320x179.jpg 320w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-3-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>I love you so much and thank you for staying away from trouble. I wanna give you a hug.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"727\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-4.jpg 727w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-4-320x179.jpg 320w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-4-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>You need to understand that none of this was your fault and that it&#8217;s ok to love people. You can&#8217;t block and hate everyone for ever.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"727\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-5.jpg 727w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-5-320x179.jpg 320w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-5-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>The version of me now is not as I expected, there are many an option I have missed out on and there are two quotes that you will be familiar with: &#8220;Don&#8217;t be the one who follows the loudest voices&#8221; and &#8220;You only get out what you put in&#8221;.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"727\" height=\"406\" src=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-6.jpg 727w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-6-320x179.jpg 320w, https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-6-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 727px) 100vw, 727px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you to everyone who took part in this campaign. Join the discussion on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/imo_latest\">Twitter<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/imo_latest\/\">Instagram<\/a> using #dearyoungerme.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Imagine if you could go back in time and know then what you know now. Wouldn\u2019t it be great? Over the last month, teens in care and care leavers from all over the UK have been taking part in our #dearyoungerme campaign by writing postcards to their younger selves. They&#8217;ve shared some wonderful, inspiring and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-2436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-your-stories","tag-dear-younger-me"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<title>Dear younger me: Life lessons - IMO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dear younger me: Life lessons - IMO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Imagine if you could go back in time and know then what you know now. Wouldn\u2019t it be great? Over the last month, teens in care and care leavers from all over the UK have been taking part in our #dearyoungerme campaign by writing postcards to their younger selves. They&#8217;ve shared some wonderful, inspiring and [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"In My Opinion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-18T10:16:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-14T12:49:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"727\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"406\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Dear younger me: Life lessons\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-18T10:16:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-14T12:49:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":331,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/wpuploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/life-lessons-1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Dear younger me\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Your stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dear younger me: Life lessons - IMO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/wpuploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/life-lessons-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-18T10:16:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-14T12:49:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/your-stories\\\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/wpuploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/life-lessons-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/wpuploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/life-lessons-1.jpg\",\"width\":727,\"height\":406},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/\",\"name\":\"IMO\",\"description\":\"IMO is a voice for teenagers in care and for care leavers. Somewhere you can share stories, experiences and achievements, get and give advice, and find loads of great free stuff!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\\\/imo\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dear younger me: Life lessons - IMO","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dear younger me: Life lessons - IMO","og_description":"Imagine if you could go back in time and know then what you know now. Wouldn\u2019t it be great? Over the last month, teens in care and care leavers from all over the UK have been taking part in our #dearyoungerme campaign by writing postcards to their younger selves. They&#8217;ve shared some wonderful, inspiring and [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/","og_site_name":"In My Opinion","article_published_time":"2019-02-18T10:16:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-14T12:49:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":727,"height":406,"url":"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Dear younger me: Life lessons","datePublished":"2019-02-18T10:16:40+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-14T12:49:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/"},"wordCount":331,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-1.jpg","keywords":["Dear younger me"],"articleSection":["Your stories"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/","url":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/","name":"Dear younger me: Life lessons - IMO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-1.jpg","datePublished":"2019-02-18T10:16:40+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-14T12:49:00+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/your-stories\/dear-younger-me-life-lessons\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/assets.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/wpuploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/life-lessons-1.jpg","width":727,"height":406},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/","name":"IMO","description":"IMO is a voice for teenagers in care and for care leavers. Somewhere you can share stories, experiences and achievements, get and give advice, and find loads of great free stuff!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2436"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5973,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2436\/revisions\/5973"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk\/imo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}