As I have traveled and grown through the years of my life, I have taken away many lessons that have helped me become shaped in who I am today. Here are just 19 of the lessons I have learned in the 19 years of my life.
1. Unique is beautiful.
Being your different, unique self is one of the strongest features of your beauty.
2. Boys will always have cooties.
Dad, that was mostly for your benefit. But, really ladies, boys have cooties. Ew.
3. ALWAYS be thankful for what you have.
There is more to this life than accumulating “stuff,” so be thankful for what you do have. Focus on your life and what you’re doing with it rather than on what you’re buying.
4. Learn to love and care for your siblings.
They are the best friends you will be stuck with for the rest of your days. Love them and get to know them for the incredible people they are despite their “torturous” ways.
5. Love your parents.
They love you unconditionally and sacrifice so much for you; respect that and love them back.
6. Live in the moment, not the future.
Don’t worry about the stress of tomorrow. Fully live in the day you are given and focus on the life around you. Life goes by incredibly fast.
7. Being kind is always beautiful.
Your real beauty will shine when your heart is kind.
8. Embrace change.
Growth is good, and going through hard changes will rapidly speed that process up. So embrace change even though it is going to be awkward and uncomfortable.
9. You cannot fit into a cookie cutter.
Stop trying to look and act how society wants you to. You cannot fit into their “perfect” cookie cutter of a person, so be yourself and break out of that mold. You don’t need that in your life, and you are amazing without it.
10. Love yourself.
Love yourself and love others. Love your tight, frizzy curls, straight hair, skinny arms or legs, short legs, glasses, braces and even your nose. Love every bit of your outside and inside.
11. Don’t change who you are for other people.
You are already incredible, so don’t ever let anyone tell you to change yourself because they don’t know how to appreciate you for who you are.
12. Be adventurous.
There is a humongous world out there waiting for you to find and touch every inch of it, whether it be in your little town or somewhere 3,000 miles away from you. Find your adventure and experience life.
13. Laugh at yourself.
Life is not any fun if you're always being serious. Laugh at yourself when you do ridiculous things or feel frazzled or upset! Find joy every day in yourself and just laugh a little!
14. Eat cake.
Life is too short to only ever eat kale, gluten free bread or dairy free cheese, so eat the piece of cake that's screaming your name. But, not all the time, unless you want to become cake. . .
15. Be spontaneous.
Thinking about getting ice cream at midnight with your friends? Do it. Late night run to Wal-Mart because you forgot you used all your toothpaste? Yes! Go! Grab your friends, be spontaneous and make some more memories to compile in your brain cubbies.
16. You can never have too many shoes.
Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you have too many pairs of shoes, it just is not possible for that to happen.
17. Embrace the messiness of life.
Life can become very messy and disorganized, but embrace it and clean up the mess joyfully.
18. Forgiveness is not an easy task.
Forgiving others can be one of the most challenging things to do in life, but know that through the difficulty comes beauty and change in you and the other person.
19. Impact others, and allow yourself to be impacted by them.
Allow the people in your life to have an impact on you. Let yourself grow from their impact, and then, in turn, you have the opportunity to influence their lives in a way that can never forgotten. Be a positive impact with your incredible life and be remembered.
