The big two five - 25 things I've learned so far

Snowy picture because I'm a winter baby

It’s my birthday in a couple days y’all and I’m officially going to be a decade and a half old (edit: holy cannoli I can't believe y'all were nice enough not to point out my idiocy, I meant two and a half decades) Woohoo! For anyone reading this who is younger than me, it gets sooo much better you guys. For anyone older than me, please tell me it continues to get better! It’s not all downhill is it?! =D

I’m not really the type to panic about turning older or anything of the sort. I do feel that I have so much to achieve and so I will occasionally feel a twinge of anxiety that I haven’t yet achieved some of my bigger goals (buying my dad a brand new Mercedes and helping some friends of my grandparents who struggle financially. Big dreams I know but one day hopefully they’ll be reality). Other than that my birthday is really just another day with the bonus of getting presents. =D

I do, however, like to look back each year and reflect on where I was on my last birthday and how far I’ve come since then. I try to analyze what I’ve improved on and what still needs work and most importantly what I’ve learned so far. This year I thought it might be fun to do some of that publicly and post 25 things that I feel I have learned thus far. I’d love it if after reading some of mine, you’d share some of your life lessons with me! :-)

So without further ado, here are the 25 most valuable lessons I feel I have learned in my 25 years on planet Earth. 

1)      Things change and bad times do not last. No matter what kind of situation you are in right now, it will eventually change because life simply goes on. When you’re in your teenage years, it’s so difficult to grasp this concept. You think every feeling is going to last forever and every bad situation will be reality for the rest of your existence but that’s simply not the case. Good or bad, light or dark, the situation will change. So if you’re ever feeling tired of your current circumstance and you find yourself at your wits end, just hold on my lovely reader. It will change. :-)

 

2)      Your thoughts are way more important than you realize. Positive thoughts will manifest positive situations in your life. 

3)      Apparently, positivity does not come easy. In the beginning you must constantly monitor your thoughts to stop the flow of negativity. As time goes on, this will become easier and easier and you will naturally lean towards positivity. I used to think well ok I’m going to be positive, now where’s the switch that I flip? I guess it doesn’t work that way. 

4)      It’s actually so much easier to be kind and loving and accepting than to be hateful and judgmental towards another human being. 

5)      It feels amazing to give love even in response to hate. Your heart is much more at peace when you have a kind and positive response to negativity. 

6)      Anger is useless and gets you nowhere. The same goes for worry.

7)      Life takes on new levels of awesomeness when you stop caring what other people say or do. 

8)      Every single day is a new opportunity to go out there and chase your dreams. 

9)      You must, you absolutely must believe in yourself. Don’t let ANYone tell you you can’t do something.

10)  There is so much to be grateful for. Delicious food, clean water…every basic necessity and then some. More than I could ever successfully list here. 

11)  It’s better to have a few friends who understand you than to have a lot of them who don’t really even know the real you. 

12)  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder (took me ages to learn this one yeesh I’m slow) 

13)  There are no shortcuts. Anything worth having requires hard work and determination.

14)  In order to truly be happy, you have to accept and love who you are. Be at peace with yourself. If there’s something you don’t like change it but don’t hate yourself, don’t direct any negative energy at yourself (or at others for that matter). Love yourself because you’re awesome. We all are. 

15)  We are never the same person two days in a row. Every day we learn new things and change and grow. I love this actually, because in adolescence you (or I would) tend to think that I pretty much knew most of what life was about and that I had a pretty good handle on all there is to it. HA! 

16)  Relationships, no matter what kind, take work. You must give in order to receive. 

17)  Focusing on the past is a colossal waste of time. You’re better off reading a good book. 

18)  Our planet is so gorgeous and mesmerizing…we really ought to spend a bit more time admiring it because it’s truly beautiful and it’s our home. 

19)  Everyone is different. You can’t expect everyone to think and act/react the same way you do, it just doesn’t work that way (another one that took me AGES!)

20)  Even in moments when your inner confidence is feeling shaky, act confident anyway. Nobody can tell the difference, really. 

21)  Sometimes it’s better to just go one step at a time. Forget the big picture for a while, just put one foot in front of the other and keep trudging. 

22)  Sleep is so important. Lack of sleep messes with EVERYthing! 

23)  Following trends is unnecessary. Its ok to just be you. Wear whatever you like! Do your makeup however you want! It’s so much more fun to just be who you are than who you think society wants you to be.

24)  Every single day, every minute, every second brings you one step closer to whatever it is you’re chasing. Somehow I never used to think about this but came across something that helped me realize it a few years ago. Now, whenever I feel a bit down, I remind myself of this. Think about it. That last time you blinked? That was one blink closer to your goal. That breath you just took? You’re closer to your dream now than you were before. Every moment you move through time to get just a little bit closer to that goal. 

25)  Life is absolutely beautiful! You just have to stop the little things from clouding your vision and open your eyes to its beauty. 

And that’s the lot! Phew! I hope you liked/can relate to some of these :-)

I wanted to share the ones that are the most valuable to me in the hope that they could maybe help someone else. If you feel the same way about some of these or want to share some of your most valuable lessons with me (I would love it if you did) share them in the comments below! 

Bonus lesson: Tom Hiddleston is a fantastic dancer. Learned this a couple years ago and yes it’s a valuable lesson because look: 

 See my point? =D