Less than two weeks ago, I moved out of my parents' house into an apartment. So let me just start off by saying that adulting is a real struggle. I’ve been dealing with the electric company. I’ve fixed a toilet. I’ve learned that putting an envelope in the freezer for two hours won’t actually unseal it (thanks for nothing YouTube). Other than that, though, I’ve felt pretty prepared for life on my own, and I attribute a lot of that to my upbringing.

My parents have always been good at giving wise advice, especially my dad. My siblings and I always joke that my dad has a handful of key phrases and sayings that he recycles as much as he can. He laughs about it too, now that we’re all almost grown, and he’s realizing how often he gives the same advice. But as funny as it is to poke fun at him about it, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard my dad’s voice in the back of my head reciting these valuable and oh-so-memorable statements. I truly believe I'm the person I am today because my dad took the time to teach me these lessons, and I’ll never be able to thank him enough for that.

All of that to say, here is some of the truest, funniest and wisest advice my dad has given me.

1. Treat people the way you want to be treated.

If I had a dime for every time my dad said this to me, I could have retired comfortably to Bora Bora at the age of 19. Whenever I was having an issue with someone, whether it be a sibling, a friend or some random, annoying person, my dad would ask the question, “What’s the Golden Rule, Kristen?” When I was too stubborn to answer, he would say, "Don’t treat people how they treat you; treat them the way you want them to treat you.” It’s much easier said than done, but it has been a game changer every time I’ve tried it.

2. Trust is everything.

Relationships will not be successful if trust is not part of the equation. That applies to your relationship with God, your spouse, your parents, your siblings, your friends, your coworkers…everyone. Learning to trust and be trusted is one of the best things you can do.

3. If you fail to plan, you can plan to fail.

I typically love to plan. I even plan out time to make plans, but that doesn’t mean I had a plan for everything. So trust me when I say this piece of advice is not something you want to learn the hard way. Thankfully, this phrase wasn’t easy to forget since my dad had a habit of saying it in a very exaggerated southern accent. Whatever works, I guess?

4. Slow down into a curve, speed up coming out.

When I was learning to drive, I had the bad habit of hitting the gas going into a curve, and then slamming on the breaks halfway through, which made traveling with me very unpleasant during my first couple of years behind the wheel. I didn’t really understand what the big deal was until I rode in the car with my brother while he was learning to drive, and he did the same thing. Then it clicked. To this day I will never be able to drive around a curve without hearing my dad say this in the back of my mind.

5. Never do anything without praying about it first.

My dad is someone I always go talk to whenever I have a big decision to make. Whether it’s a new job opportunity, a relationship or a conflict that needs resolving, he’s always there to listen and help in whatever way he can; but regardless of what he thinks I should or shouldn’t do, he always encourages me to pray about it. He reminds me how it’s never a good idea to get ahead of God. You can never go wrong with asking Him about it first. In my 24 years on this earth, my dad has never been wrong about that.

6. Find a man who loves the Lord and treats you well.

When I was a senior in high school on my way to my first college tour, I sat in the back seat of our minivan making a list of all the things I wanted in my future husband. I wanted him to be over six feet tall. I wanted him to be an athlete. I wanted him to know how to cook, and that just scratched the surface of the double-columned-two-page-long list. Finally, my dad stopped the madness when he kindly interrupted me and said, “Kristen, as long as you find a man that loves Jesus, loves you and treats you well, that’s really all you need to worry about.” Since that day, that’s been my prayer…but I’m still praying he’ll be tall, too.

7. Lock all the doors and turn all the lights off.

I used to get annoyed when my dad would take 10 extra minutes before we left the house to make sure every light was off and every door was locked. Now that I live in my own apartment, I find myself checking all the lights and doors every time I leave, even if it’s just to go to the mailbox. It’s a whole different ball game when you’re the one paying the electric bill.

8. Your mom is always right.

There’s really no explanation needed for this one.

9. Use your manners.

Growing up, whenever I would get ready to go over to a friend’s house, I would get the same spiel: “Kristen, don’t forget to use your manners. Yes ma’am. Yes sir. Please and thank you. And don’t forget to thank them for having you over.” I couldn’t tell you how many times people would compliment me and my siblings on how well-mannered we were. My dad taught us to be respectful to adults from the time we could talk, and I’m so, so grateful for that.

10. Think before you speak.

This was the other thing he would tell us before we left the house. It was more of a warning for my siblings than it was for me (if you know Brett and Danielle you know exactly what I’m talking about), but that never stopped dad from telling me, too. Either way, it’s great advice, and I’ve saved myself from a lot of regret when I’ve followed it.

11. This world does not revolve around you.

Every teenager’s favorite words…just kidding; but oh how wrong I thought he was when my dad would recite this age old line to me. All I was worried about was pitching a fit that I couldn’t do what I wanted when I wanted. Praise the Lord as the teenage years faded into the past, so did a lot of the self-centeredness, but I would give anything to go back and take my dad seriously when he reminded me of this.

12. You can’t ride two horses with one a$$.

If you’ve never seen the movie "Sweet Home Alabama," go rent it immediately after you read this. However, if you have, you know exactly where this wonderful piece of advice came from. Melody is trying to decide whether she should choose the guy everyone expects her to marry or go back to the man she’s actually in love with. As she stood there conflicted in the middle of the aisle, her dad, in all his wisdom, looks at her and utters those eight words. Who knew such a line would become one of my dad’s favorite pieces of fatherly advice?

13. Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for life.

One of the most satisfying things as a child is to be able to use advice your parents have given you and give it back to your parents. I mean if it’s such great advice, they should want to listen to it too, right? I use this particular phrase very often whenever I have to help my dad with anything related to technology. He always wants me to just fix everything for him instead of showing him how to fix it himself. That’s when I give him a dose of his own parenting medicine. At that point he just grins and lets me explain (for the 15th time) how to make the font bigger on his phone so he can read it.

14. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

I’ve always been one to value intelligence. I like learning new things and gaining knowledge. (Yeah, yeah, go ahead and call me a nerd.) I always felt a sense of pride whenever I would share facts that other people didn’t know or whenever I felt smart, but dad always had a way of gently humbling me and reminding me of this famous quote by Maya Angelo. I can have all the knowledge in the world and know everything about anything, but if I don’t care about people, that knowledge is worth absolutely nothing. My dad modeled this so well, because even though he’s a super smart guy, he’s more known for being caring, friendly and genuinely interested in other people. In my eyes, that’s so much cooler than being intelligent.

15. "Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

My dad would quote this verse from Philippians all the time, often tying it back to the “This world doesn’t revolve around you” lecture. As annoyed as I would get hearing it growing up, because all I wanted was for people to take interest in me, this has been such a valuable thing to remember in the context of friendships and relationships. Just think about how great it feels when someone takes interest in you. Don’t you love that? So shouldn’t you want to do the same for other people? That’s what the Golden Rule says. See, it all ties together. Maybe my dad did know what he was talking about after all.