Letters to our teen selves: Glenys Searancke

What advice would you give your 16-year-old self? The Daily Post asks four well-known Rotorua people - former mayor Grahame Hall, entertainer Russell Harrison, businesswoman Linley Parry and Rotorua district councillor Glenys Searancke to write a letter to their teen selves
Glenys Searancke:
DEAR me,
Well, oh to be 16 again and know then what I know now. Or would I really? When I was 16, I was still at school and fancy free. Headstrong and probably a little outspoken but what's wrong with that?
I always stuck up for those less articulate than myself and, yes, it landed me in hot water some times. As the years have passed, I have learned to tread lightly through the tulips sometimes and that way nobody gets hurt and tempers don't fly. My advice is be humble, never place yourself on a pedestal and you will do well.
Families. How important mine has been to me. My own family at 16, Mum, Dad, three brothers and one sister - no grandparents - are my anchor. Debates at the dinner table are part of everyday life - I lose a lot of the arguments but what good training for life's journey.
Cherish your family and support your siblings in their endeavours.
Oh the trials and temptations of being 16. All sorts of choices are to be made - education, career thoughts, hobbies and sports and, of course, the opposite sex occupies one's thoughts as well.
The company I keep are a great bunch of girls and guys and how important this is for my future. We have lots of fun but know where to draw the line. It is so important to know the limits that can be pushed when you are 16.
Overseas travel - oh how I have enjoyed. Started at 19, I learned more in that eight months travelling than any school could have taught me. Make the most of the world.
Travel today is so easy and seeing how other nationalities live is just so interesting and expands the mind. People, places, languages you don't understand, history, cultures and art.
Then, of course, I grew up, marriage, children and grandchildren.
Three special children, four precious grandchildren. My darling husband who suddenly departed this world too soon. Who would have thought of this at 16? Not me. But the years just fly by and, suddenly, you are a senior citizen. No not me - surely. But it's true. Make the most of every day, every week, every year for time is precious.
What an exciting world today. Global warming is changing our weather, technology is completely changing the world. Soon there will not be books and pens at school but iPads instead.
There wasn't even television at 16 and I rode a bike to school.
So 16-year-old what have I learned and keep learning? Life is two-way traffic, in that we receive in proportion to what we give.
From Glenys