2018 was a record year for me. Not only did I turn 20, but I also met a handful of my favorite celebrities, took my second trip out of the country, embraced singlehood again, and went from freshman year of college to sophomore year in the blink of an eye. Over those 52 weeks, I also learned a lot of lessons that I wish I'd known/understood even sooner. Here are 20 lessons I learned from the year 2018:
1. Don't settle just because you're exhausted with the season you're in.
Whether it's a job, less-than-dreamy apartment, or potential relationship, don't settle just because you're sick of the season you're currently in. I've done this practically my entire life. I become impatient with a season of waiting or so sick of the season I've been in that I try to rush things. And it's often gotten me into situations that weren't right. I had to experience them because that's how life works, but chances are, I probably would've been better off and endured less pain or anxiety if I'd just waited my turn.
2. You decide how you let others make you feel.
While you may not be able to decide how they treat you, you can decide how they are allowed to make you feel. If you aren't being built up, it's on you to change that. It's hard to let people go, I get it, but it's even harder to keep them in your life when they're hurting you physically, mentally, or emotionally.
3. People will sometimes project their beliefs and opinions on to how they think you should act, and that's not your fault.
Regardless of how you behave, there will always be someone that disagrees with the decisions you make and/or how you act. That's on them, you keep doing you. Keep being the absolute best version of you there is. There's a difference between someone calling you out for doing something blatantly wrong and calling you out just because they don't like who you are. Aside from constructive criticism from people that care about you, it's usually meant to hurt you anyways.
4. Spend less time worrying.
Period.
5. It takes more effort to tear yourself (and others) down.
Build and construct instead of destructing.
6. The only way you'll get away from your phone is to put it away yourself.
One thing that I'm trying to make even more important in the new year is to spend less time on my phone. And the only way I ever get myself away from the temptation to pick up my phone is to keep it somewhere outside of the room I'm in.
7. Budget better.
Please, your sanity deserves it.
8. No matter how many times you tell yourself, you won't go to the gym "tomorrow."
Start now.
9. Decisions take time.
Don't "jump" at an opportunity when you're not mentally prepared for any outcome.
10. Learn to take a season of waiting at face value.
You may not be where you want, but you're growing toward it all the same.
11. Creating versions in your head of how people should be or situations are supposed to play out will most likely let you down.
Let them be who they are first before griping about who you think they should be. If they're not who you need in your life, then just don't have them in your inner circle of people. It's as simple as that.
12. When deciding between paying for gas and buying something new, would you rather get to a store just to window shop or break down on the side of the road before you even get there?
Fill up your gas tank, girlfriend.
13. Sometimes, the only way you'll make it through a season is by reminding yourself how good the future will be.
However, make sure "how good the future will be" doesn't just stay a promise. Make sure it's a priority and a reality.
14. Go home when you need to.
Roots are still the source of growth and survival.
15. Take my advice, if you're going to watch Supernatural, don't watch it before bed.
Unless you want nightmares, but hey, you do you.
16. When you start to feel anxious, try something else before turning to prescribed meds.
Let me first say that I am medicated for anxiety; I have a prescription in my bathroom cabinet. I take it right before I go to bed to help me sleep, but I don't take anything during the day. With that being said, I try anything else when I feel a panic attack coming on because I don't want to have to rely on my meds 24/7.
Those are 16 lessons I've learned in the past year that I plan to live by in 2019.
Going to the cinema alone is good for your mental health, says science
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