I promise to…

1. Start saying yes. Whether it’s a date, trying new food, or going somewhere I’ve never been, I will agree to it. So many of us stick to our comfort zones and don’t do things that push our limits. I’ve missed out on so many opportunities and new experiences because of my own insecurities and boundaries.
2. Tell people how I really feel. As I get older, I realize that holding my thoughts back has kept me running in circles. You can’t expect everyone to know how you feel or what you want. Speaking up might be scary, but it’s even scarier to think you could miss out on something great because of a lack of communication.
3. Leave behind the empty friendships. My Mom always used to say “I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies”, and I never understood what that actually meant. Now I see that it’s not about the quantity of friends but rather the quality of them. This will allow more time to be spent on the right people, the ones who deserve to be in your life.
4. Remember it’s not always my fault when someone doesn’t like me. Rejection is never easy, especially when it comes from someone you care about. If I had $1 for every hour of sleep I lost spent wondering what I did wrong or why I wasn’t good enough, I could probably end world hunger. The truth is, it was never my fault. Sometimes the baggage people carry is too much to put onto another person. They have their own issues they cant get a grip on, maybe they’re trying to patch things up with an ex, or simply would just rather play the field. Stressing over the coulda, shoulda, wouldas will get you nowhere. Not everyone you lose is a loss.
5. Stop running from my emotions. Sometimes I wish I didn’t care about things as much as I said I didn’t. Everyone goes through things and ignoring those things only puts you at a bigger disadvantage. Its okay not to be okay and a huge weight will be lifted from your chest when you allow yourself to actually feel.
6. Change my idea of “early” and start waking up at that time. Waking up at 1 p.m. is only acceptable for babies and people who work night shifts. Looking at the clock and realizing I slept half the day away makes me feel so unproductive and lazy.
7. Make time to spend with family. For some reason we put the most important people last on our list because we know they’ll understand. Life is going just as fast for them as it is for us, yet you know they would come running the second you asked.
8. Stop spending so much money on unnecessary things. (UGH) Starbucks, clothes, and everything else Target has to offer. My bank account would love me so much more if I stopped kicking it in the stomach so often.
9. Set goals and stick to them. You can wish for success all you want but its not going to just come to you. Short-term goals will make your long-term goals much easier to reach and will automatically make you a better person.
10. Actually take my parents advice. As much as I hate to admit it, they were right every single time. I always figured it out, but listening to them from the start would have saved me a lot of time, energy and stress.
11. Appreciate the bad days. No one has good days one hundred percent of the time and appreciating the bad days will make the good ones so much better. As much as you think you’ve hit rock bottom and the world is against you, the bad day will only last twenty four hours and you get a new start the next day.
12. Learn to be okay with being alone. Independence is so important to your character and makes you a stronger person. Its okay to rely on other people but at the end of they day the only person you have is yourself.
13. Read more books. They’re filled with words of encouragement, advice, and ideas. Although you may not agree with everything, seeing from a different point of view will make yours clearer.
14. Love myself. *Cue Justin Bieber*. We all have things we wish we could change about ourselves but they’re not going to change with a snap of a finger. Stop putting yourself down on your journey to becoming a better you.
15. Spend less time on social media. In a society where people let “likes” determine their value, realize you’re so much more and there are SO many other things you could be spending your valuable time on. Your promotions or good grades aren’t going to come from retweets or likes on a picture.
16. Delete DJ Khaled from snapchat. His stories are my guilty pleasure and even though I love seeing what Chef Dee cooked up for him and hearing that “it costs money to eat”, I think he’s making me dumber. Sorry Khaled, good luck on your journey to more success.
17. Stop taking things for granted. I have lived a very fortunate life and am lucky to have everything I do. Were all guilty of wishing for things others have that we forget to be thankful for the things we do. My most valuable things aren't things, they are people and the love we have for each other. Working on myself is so much easier with the incredible support system behind me.