20 Things I Learned Before I Turned 20

1. You should always drive to be the best version of yourself that you can be, but no one is perfect. If you fall short, it isn’t the end of the world. You’re going to make mistakes. you’re going to do stupid things. it’s a part of growing up. learn to forgive yourself.

2. Never apologize for putting your mental health before your education. College in HARD. And some days it can be overwhelming to the point where you just need a break. Accept that it’s okay not to be okay.

3. Travel as much as you can & as far as you can. Take the opportunity to travel when it comes upon you. You never know when you'll have another opportunity to travel again.

4. Pizza is ALWAYS a good idea.

5. You cannot compare your life’s worth to the empty spaces that were once filled around you. People will leave (willing or not) and life will go on. Let life go on.

6. Spend money on experiences. I hate how much money I've spent on items I don't even have any more and how little of the country (let alone the world) I've seen. Memories > materialism.

7. Never paint your nails shortly before bed. No matter how dry you think they are, they will smudge every time.

8. Choose the people who choose you. Surround yourself with the people who love you unconditionally for you. Don’t change yourself or make yourself into something you’re not for others because it’s never worth it.

9. Close your eyes, count to ten, and open them again. You are not alone. I know it may feel like you are the only one, but believe me when I say that you aren’t.

10. Always keep ice cream in the freezer. You never know when you’ll need it.

11. Your friends will change and that’s okay. The people you were close with in high school won’t always be around. Of course they are still your friends, but you don’t talk like you used to or hang out like you used to. Life happens and things change and you might be afraid and feel alone but it will be okay.

12. Laugh hard and laugh often. How wonderful is it that we laugh because our bodies can not contain the joy?

13. If you want a haircut/dye your hair/change up your look somehow but you’re too nervous in case it “doesn’t suit you”, just do it anyway. Hair is just hair and it will grow out. Makeovers are fun and life changing in the best and most superficial way.

14. Keep a journal. Take the time to write out how you’re feeling and what you’re experiencing. You’ll be thankful in the future when you can go back and reminisce.

15. Growth isn’t always constant. Relapses happen. It doesn’t erase all of your success. Also, speed doesn’t matter. Forward is forward.

16. Never regret anything. Every decision, good or bad, has made you the person you are today. Learn to be better, not bitter.

17. Music can save. Play it as loud as you can with the windows down as you drive (probably a little too fast). Play it while you are at work and while you are in the shower and play it when you want to give up in the middle of the day and when you want to give up in the middle of the night. Just play the music that tugs at your heartstrings, it may save you.

18. Growing up doesn’t mean you can’t have fun-shaped Mac & Cheese; it just means you have to buy it yourself.

19. Be fierce. Don’t let others step on you. Hold your ground.

20. Watch the sunrise, and watch the sunset. There is something about the sun that screams life; let the light bleed into you and consume you until you shine with it. Sometimes it’s the simple things we are missing in life that we need the most.