Because I’m almost turning 28 (I can’t believe how time flies!), I figured I should make a list of all the things I’ve learned in life. Take these with a grain of salt though: my experiences/lessons may not exactly be applicable to you.
27 LESSONS/27 YEARS:
- You can’t please everybody. Unless you’re dead. But even that can piss some people off.
- Be nice, or at least be civil. No: it won’t make you the most lovable person in the world. Do it anyway.
- Eat right as much as possible. No supplement can magically make you healthy and flush out the junk you put in your body.
- Make time for exercise. Nature designed you to move. Get your butt off the couch.
- Do what you love but avoid getting yourself in jail
- Be wary of self-proclaimed experts of everything. It’s impossible for one person to know it all. They’re either crazy or trying to wheedle money from you.
- That being said, have a healthy amount of skepticism and open-mindedness.
- Speak your mind when you must. The world often gives way to people with agendas; being passive is like laying a red carpet for bad people to walk on.
- You will outgrow some people. It doesn’t always mean you’ve become better; sometimes, you just learned to enjoy other things. (Unless you were a former druggie, in which case, congratulations.)
- Travel when you can. But don’t over-romanticize the unfamiliar. Other places open your mind, but your home is beautiful too.
- Your taste in music doesn’t make you better, so don’t diss other people just because they enjoy Ke$ha and you don’t.
- Some people are happy with less, but progress is fueled by human discontentment. It’s a tricky thing.
- Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it’s wrong, but it’s a good thing to demand evidence when people claim something outrageous.
- It’s fun to dance like an epileptic potato every once in a while. Don’t try to be so cool all the time.
- Be friends with people who will love you and will stand by you as you murder Oasis’s Wonderwall in Rockeoke.
- You will do stupid things in life. These will be the funny stories you will tell everyone in the future.
- On travel again: go on a long trip with a friend. If you don’t end up enemies, you’ve found a true friend.
- To connect with people, meet them at the middle. Just make sure you’re both not standing on the edges of opposite cliffs.
- Drink water instead of sugary soda. (Make sure the water is clean.)
- Be kind to children. The world will dump a lot of awful things in their lives. Don’t add to that.
- Just because it’s been there for a long time doesn’t mean it’s okay or good. You might be the one who will get the courage to change the way things are.
- You will be a jerk to someone at one point in your life. If you get the chance, say sorry and make things right.
- Be curious. Avoid being judgmental.
- Don’t say sorry when you’re not wrong just to fix things. But really make sure you’re not wrong.
- Plastic surgery is not a substitute for learning to love who you are, but hey, if it makes them happy and it doesn’t harm anyone, let people have their cheek implants and bustlifts.
- One minute on high in the microwave isn’t the equivalent of five minutes on defrost.
- Just because it’s on a list doesn’t mean it’s applicable to everyone. Comparing your life to other people is only okay up to a certain point. Know which experiences they have that you could learn from and apply to your life.
