The advice that my mom has given me throughout the years has resonated with me and become words I live by. I can only hope to give half as good of advice as my mom. “All that I am or hope to be I owe to my angel mother.” –Abraham Lincoln
1. Always eat dessert first.
Life is too short to wait to eat dessert until after dinner. Don’t waste your time with steak or potatoes. Get to the stuff that really matters!
2. The hard times build character.
My mom always told me when times were tough that I was building my character. I never really thought about it or what it meant until I could apply those situations to another aspect of my life. Now I catch myself thinking it during rough and stressful situations.
3. It's okay to not have it all figured out.
We are college students. We make mistakes. It’s okay to change your major three times, add a minor, drop that same minor and then change your mind completely! Take one day at a time. Everything will come together eventually.
4. A few great friends are better than a lot of mediocre friends.
My mom could always peg my friends right away if they were true friends or just friends that were passing through. After I would realize it for myself, she would always tell me of her suspicions. She would say it's better to weed out the ones that didn’t have true intentions and narrow it down to the ones who would stick by my side through anything.
5. It'll heal before you're married.
As a child, this saying was for a scraped knee, a bump on the head or a scratch from my cat. As I got older, this phrase was geared more toward my feelings. During middle school, it was always fights with friends. In high school to present day, this saying applies to the heart and my soul. (See #7)
6. Will it matter 5 years from now?
Making mistakes or doing bad on a test are just little blips on the radar. Will it matter that you failed a Psych 101 test your freshman year when you are 25 years old? Not at all. Keep moving forward. Mistakes happen, and then you just have to move on. Live life without worries.
7. All boys are dumb.
They just are.
8. If you did your best, that's all that matters.
Doing your best is literally all that you can do. Don’t dwell on the past and wish that you could’ve done things differently. Accept that you did all that you could and move on. My mom always encouraged me to do my best, and even when I knew I could’ve done better, she was still proud of me.
9. Don't procrastinate.
Getting work done sooner rather than later is always the goal. It’s a great feeling to be ahead of the game. Unfortunately, I’m still working on this one.
10. You'll miss home more than you think you will.
Every high school senior is always so ready to leave home and have the freedom they’ve been waiting 18 years for. What they don’t realize is that now the smallest things about living at home are the things they’ll miss the most. Having a constant supply of Cheetos is something that I can always count on when I am home. Even as a college sophomore, I look forward to going home whenever I get the chance.
