A+ MEMBER COMMUNITY POST: What Advice Would You Give Your Tween Self?

It’s our 12th Birthday and we are CELEBRATING the heck out of the last of our tween years with quizzes, advice to our tween selves and an A+ AMA!
So, in honor of 12 years of Autostraddle and this bastion of queerness on the internet, we asked you, A+ members, what would you tell your tween self if you could?
Also you all made me cry real tears while putting this together. Thank you for your vulnerability. Reader, buckle up!

Anonymous / whatever / Northern Arizona
Don't dye your hair black because a girl you like says it would look good.
You are going to feel an immense amount of pressure to choose between living a life that feels authentic to you and living a life that others accept and celebrate. You will choose your authentic experience...

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Nico

Nico Hall is a Team Writer for Autostraddle (formerly Autostraddle's A+ and Fundraising Director and For Them's Membership and Editorial Ops person.) They write nonfiction both creative — and the more straightforward variety, too, as well as fiction. They are currently at work on a secret longform project. Nico is also haunted. You can find them on Twitter and Instagram. Here's their website, too.

Nico has written 238 articles for us.