I am not going to sit here and type up a speech about knowing everything there is to know about life. After all, I am only 18 and have so much left to learn and experience. There are, however, a few things that I have learned about life in my short 18 years that most other college students have also learned by now.
1. Eat what you want. Life is short.
Want that extra piece of pie or cake or candy? Go ahead and enjoy yourself because life is short. As long as you aren’t stuffing yourself with pie, cake, and candy all day, it’s perfectly fine.
2. Your health really is important. Take care of yourself.
Yeah, yeah, this may seem contradicting to the past item. Go ahead and enjoy yourself; just don’t stuff yourself all day. You’ll have so much longer to enjoy those little bits of what food you want if you take care of yourself too.
3. Education is a necessity. College is fun and you can even learn there too.
You probably hear this all the time, but from my experience it really is true. Education gives you a leg up in the world. So why not use all the legs up you can get and get really educated?
4. Spending time with your family is irreplaceable time you’ll remember forever.
I’m an only child, so I’ve gotten the chance to spend a lot of time with my parents, and I wouldn’t trade this time for the world. This time has let me make irreplaceable relationships with my parents that mean the world to me. My parents are amazing people and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to get to know them as more than just parents.
5. If you don’t like something, change it.
This one may seem harder than it is, and for some things it may be impossible, but for the majority of things, you can change what you don’t like. Going through life dealing with things you don’t like isn’t fun so change it. Be happy and enjoy life.
6. If someone means something to you, tell them. Tell them again. And again.
People can’t read minds, so when someone means something to you, tell them. Make sure they know how much they mean to you – it will mean the world to them.
7. Travel whenever you get the chance.
Not everyone has the opportunity to spend life travelling, but when you do get the chance to travel, take the chance. Whether it is halfway across the world or just a few hours away, go. Experiencing different places can be one of the most rewarding and enlightening things you can do in life.
8. Don’t let other people bring you down.
This goes along with number five. When you let people bring you down, you let them control you. Not being in control of yourself doesn’t sound like something most people would enjoy. If someone is bringing you down, it isn’t your fault, so don’t let yourself suffer.
9. If you’re not happy almost 100 percent of the time, you need to re-evaluate why.
It’s OK to not be 100 percent all the time, but if the majority of your time is not spent being happy, then something isn’t right. Practice positive psychology, re-evaluate the things that don’t make you happy, and do whatever you need to make the majority of your time happy time.
10. Reading will take you to other worlds during those few times when you aren’t happy.
Reading really is magical. It can take you to any world you can imagine. Reading allows for distractions, excitement, happiness, dreams, and so much more. All by the use of arranged words.
11. Work hard. But also let yourself play hard.
A lot of life revolves around a person’s success. In order to be successful, you must work hard. Working hard is a super important part of life, but if all you do is work, then you may be unhappy almost 100 percent of the time. Let yourself play hard too, and have a balance of work and fun in your life. After all, everything in moderation, right?
12. Let go of your technology every now and then.
I will be the first to say that I love technology. It helps life in so many ways. Sometimes, though, it is good to put the phones, computers, iPads, TVs, or whatever technology you like to use away for a little bit. Spend time with the people around you. You never know what surprises they have in store.
13. Don’t change your ways for other people. You do you.
You are who you are because of so many things. Don’t make who you are based on other people, though. Keep your values, your actions, your loves, and everything close to your heart about you, not about other people.
