No more teenage angst for me, I am officially a 20 year old. Time flies when you are having fun, it feels like just yesterday I was having a sleepover with a dozen of my closest friends to celebrate breaking into the double digits. 20 years seems like a long time, but it’s really just a small drop in the bucket. That small drop had a lot of big moments and even bigger lessons in it. These are 20 things that I have learned during my 20 years on this earth.
1. God is good, all the time.
*cue the congregation replying, “All the time, God is good”* If there is one thing I know to be true it is that God is always good, even when life is not.
2. You will get told no.
I used to think the word “no” was a dead end street, turns out it’s a scenic detour.
3. Nothing happens overnight.
Straight A’s, my left splits, building my own business, yeah none of those things happened instantaneously. Patience is a virtue that I still struggle with, but I pray every day that I will be able to learn to find joy in the quiet, and sometimes painfully long, moments of waiting.
4. Comparison is the thief of joy.
Spending your time being jealous of what everyone around you has/does/is will not make you happy, it will make you miserable. Shoutout to Teddy Roosevelt for these beautiful words of wisdom.
5. Success doesn’t have one definition.
Building off numero 4, my success and happiness isn’t going to look like the girl’s next to me. You don’t have to be #1 in the class or have the most followers on Instagram to be successful in life. I have learned that I can be just as happy about my small successes as my large victories.
6. There’s no place like home.
Two words: Texas Forever.
7. But you can also have more than one home.
Two more words: Velvet Ditch.
8. Don’t knock it until you try it.
Life is full of surprises, so before you say, “heck no” and walk away, sit down and give it a try. Examples: golf, Thai food, accounting.
9. Taking a walk can be good for the soul.
I will probably never be able to run a marathon, but I am always down for a long walk around the park filled with some aha moments, a little gossip and a lot of laughs. Trust me, it does wonders.
10. Breath through your eyes like an iguana.
Probably not biologically possible, but when you feel like you are about to scream and cry at the same it, try it. For more information, contact Robert.
11. You don’t have to do it all.
Trust me there is absolutely positively no reason for you to be on every team, committee and GroupMe message. I have learned that it is perfectly acceptable to find the few things in life that bring you the most joy and give you the greatest sense of purpose, and then pursue them wholeheartedly.
12. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness or failure.
There are times in life when we just simply can’t do it alone. Those moments are the ones where I have grown the most as a person and found my greatest friends.
13. Learn to laugh at yourself.
Throw up at your first middle school dance, embarrass yourself in front of your crush, accidentally get called on by the professor in front of a lecture hall of students, just laugh. Some of life’s most embarrassing moments are some of life’s most laughable moments.
14. Don’t follow the trend, set the trend.
You don’t have to wear the chunky white shoes and dye your hair platinum if that isn’t what you want to do. Just like you don’t have to retweet the tweet or sign the petition just because it went viral. I have found that when I am most authentically myself, I am truly my happiest.
15. Buy the shoes.
Ok so maybe don’t buy the $600 dollar sneakers every time, but if you want to treat yourself by all means. I firmly believe in the power of a good pair of shoes. Every outfit can be changed by simply changing your shoes. So if my shopping math is correct, buying more shoes saves you money on clothes, therefore giving you more money to buy shoes. (DISCLAIMER: I may or may not have a shoe buying problem, but this is still a really good life lesson.)
16. Call your mother.
Or call your father when your mom doesn’t answer right away. Parents have magical powers, even through the phone.
17. You are never too far away from a church.
It doesn’t matter if it is in an old portable building or a beautiful basilica, a church is a church and Jesus will meet you where you are.
18. Be an explorer.
Explore your hometown, all those neighboring states and a country across the world. I have been lucky enough to see some of the world and I can’t wait to see the rest of it.
19. Your people are out there and you will find them.
Sometimes you find them at the age of 2, other times you won’t meet them until the ripe age of 18. The important thing is you found them and they found you and now you are forever connected.
20. The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
Just call me a biology major.
I’m sure I have learned a lot of other very important lessons in my lifetime, but I felt like these 20 pretty much sum up my existence thus far. I can’t wait to see what the next 20 years have in store for me.