As I’m approaching my 21st birthday, I can't help but reflect on how much I’ve changed and grown over the last year. Before I turned 20-years-old I remember constantly repeating, "I want to be a teenager forever." The idea of leaving my teenage years constantly made me cringe. Now that I’m almost 21, I must say being 20-years old is quite the experience. You have more freedom and no saying things like "you’re just a teen, you shouldn’t be doing that." It does have its ups and downs of course, but that's just life in general. Here are 5 things that I learned within the last year that have really stuck with me.

1. Your health is important and you’re responsible for it

I can’t stress enough how important your health is. I have had more doctors and emergency room visits at 20-years-old than I did at any other age. Annual visits to your primary care doctor are a must! Women, make sure you visit your gynecologist as well. Your parents no longer make you eat broccoli, they’re not scheduling your doctors' appointments (or driving you to one), and they’re not going to force you to take care of yourself. After having to make my own meals I definitely ditched the veggies and salads; instead of having a scheduled 3 meals a day, I just ate whenever I wanted; instead of drinking water. I’d drink a crazy amount of sugar. When you go to visit your doctors and they do a blood test, they willbe able to tell you have a poor diet, and on top of that you’ll have several health issues. The Zocdoc app is a great way to make and keep up with appointments. At the beginning of every year they remind you to get your vision exam, skin screening, annual physical, and dental cleaning— these are an absolute must!

2. Not everything deserves a response or reaction

A year ago I reacted to every-little-thing. I yelled, I always argued back, I refused to let another person get the last word. I was so toxic and not at peace. These last few months I’ve learned not to respond or react to everything. The majority of my arguments stemmed from differing opinions. You’ll soon realize not everyone is going to have the same views as you and you cannot force someone to view things the way you do. You can choose to calmly explain it and if it's not understood just move on; arguing isn’t going to help anything and it's unnecessary.

3. Forgiveness is key

In a book I read, there was a quote: "To not forgive is the decision to suffer." That was one of the most truthful things I’ve ever read. Staying angry or bitter at someone will forever interrupt your peace. It’s never healthy to hold onto anger. Forgiveness is often misinterpreted and that’s why it doesn’t happen. You can forgive someone that hurt you and still never want to speak to them again- that is totally fine. You don’t even have to reach out to that person. Only you can make that decision to forgive and only you will genuinely know you have forgiven someone.

4. You are going to make a million and one mistakes

Just as we made mistakes as teenagers, you will definitely make mistakes at 20 and so on. Yes, you’re finally entering the world of adulthood but you are not perfect. You will make mistakes; do things that seemed right at that time and later on regret it, but it will just be a lesson learned. You will make mistakes beyond 50-years-old- it’s life. The greatest thing about making mistakes now is that you probably won’t be getting punished by your parents.

5. Your 20s really will be your selfish years and that is fine

Most of my teenage years included me trying to please everyone, help everyone, and never saying no. I’ve only been in my 20s for a year and I can tell you with certainty that these will be the years where you’re mostly focused on yourself. You’re entering adulthood, trying new things, learning more about yourself. You’re going to enjoy learning new things and experimenting with yourself. People will probably try to make you feel bad but don’t; just remember how much time you dedicated to giving yourself to others. We spent 19 years listening to our parents, hearing what they wanted and expected for us; your 20s will be all about focusing on what you want for yourself.

While reaching this part of adulthood isn't a walk in a park, you'll enjoy it. You'll enjoy all the things you learn about yourself and life. You'll enjoy all of the new experiences. You'll be really happy because of how much you did for yourself.