22 Things I've Learned By 22
I don’t know about you, but I’m feelin' 22. Well, almost. My birthday is right around the corner, so I wanted to do a birthday themed post and share some of the things I’ve learned in my 22 years of life. And mostly because I wanted to post some Taylor Swift lyrics.
Here are 22 things I’ve learned in 22 years:
1. Many people will come and go in your life, but those who are meant to be in your life will eventually find their way back to you.
2. If you treat others with kindness, you will (for the most part) receive kindness in return.
3. If something isn’t working out for you, do something about it. Everyone can use a little change every now and then.
4. A best friend can go awhile without talking to you, and then when you finally catch up, it’ll feel like you’re right where you left off. You don't have to talk to each other all the time. Life is busy.
5. Nothing is out of reach if you work hard for it and want it enough.
6. When you’re younger, you want to be a grownup, and when you’re older, you want to be a kid again. Don’t rush it kids, you’ll regret it. Trust me.
7. You don’t have to like or do a certain thing to fit in. Be yourself and you’ll attract the kinds of people who want to be around you.
8. Doing things alone can sound intimidating, but once you try it, you’ll have more freedom than you ever had before.
9. High school and college don’t teach you the important life skills you need to know, like how to file taxes or how to buy a house or car. But you will learn a bunch of random stuff and could use it on an episode of Jeopardy one day.
10. Life is unpredictable. Tell people you love them every chance you get, because you never know when it may be the last time you get to see them.
11. Things are going to stress you out and cause you to worry about every little thing. The best thing to do is live in the moment in these situations, because everything always seems to work out in the end.
12. You don’t realize how expensive groceries and everyday items are until you have to pay for them on your own.
13. If there’s something you’ve been wanting to do for a long time, but you’re hesitant and putting it off because you’re afraid of something, just do it. If you keep putting it off, you more than likely will never do it. Be brave and take the first step.
14. Social media gives off an unrealistic representation of the lives people are living. That person you admire probably took a ton of photos to get the perfect shot, and then spent even more time editing it to get it just right. Not to mention moving stuff or adding things in the frame to make it more visually appealing.
15. Working hard and saving up for things that you’ve been wanting is one of the most rewarding things you can do.
16. That test that you’re stressing over in this current moment probably won’t matter for your future career. Don’t get me wrong, grades are important, but it’s the experience you get that matters the most.
17. Society is always changing. Try to be more open-minded and listen to things that other people care about. It may make you think about things you had never considered and could give you a different perspective on life.
18. Don’t overwhelm yourself. It’s okay to tell people “no.” There will always be other opportunities to do what they want you to do.
19. If there’s one thing that I can suggest you do, its travel. Traveling is one of the most rewarding and eye-opening things. Buy the plane ticket, hop on that bus, fill up the car and go. I never thought I’d want to study abroad until an opportunity came up, and I’m so glad I took it.
20. Be present in the moment. Stop, and make yourself aware of your surroundings. Document special moments in your life. Enjoy every moment with the people you love while you can.
21. You don’t realize how difficult it is to come up with words of wisdom, until you make a list of everything you've known in your entire existence.
22. As my journalism professors always say, “life is hard, and then you die.”
Honestly, I didn’t realize how difficult it was going to be to write this blog post until I got down to #9 and ran out of things to say. Luckily, I spent a little more time than necessary thinking about all the experiences I’ve had and the things I’ve learned, and was able to add some insightful words in there. I hope you were either able to relate to some of these or learn some new advice to live by.
If you had to give one piece of advice to someone, what would it be?
Until next time,
A few things I’ve been up to recently, including getting a new pet!