Birthdays can be a magical thing. I've always been a huge fan of my family and friend's birthdays; I love celebrating them and writing in birthday cards. I've never found that same ounce of appreciation for mine.
On July 24th, I turned 20. I will have been on this Earth and breathing this air for two full decades. Sometimes I feel like I've been living forever, and other times I feel like I know nothing and was born two days ago.
I feel like I've made a lot of mistakes in the time I've been able to recall what a mistake is. I think I've learned a lot, but who's to know.
To my knowledge, everything I say may or may not be complete bullsh*t.
Yet here I am, sharing 20 things I've learned in 20 years. Hopefully, it doesn't stop here:
1. You have to do things that make you uncomfortable if you ever what anything to change.
2. People come into your life for a reason just as much as they leave for a reason.
3. Dream. Dream, dream, dream. Constantly. Big and small. Whatever it is that you someday want, no matter how ridiculous it seems, at least dream of it.
4. Don't rush growing up.
5. If you miss something or someone, then find a way to get it back. Find a way to get those longing feelings back.
6. Failing one thing, two things, three things, or even ten things does not make you a failure. It doesn't even come close.
7. Money eventually comes back. Time doesn't.
8. Happiness is an emotion, not a destination.
9. Do what feels best for you.
10. Where you are and what you are feeling now is not permanent.
11. If it makes you even the smallest ounce of happy, then it counts for something.
12. Music kind of does heal everything. If it doesn't, then listen to different music.
13. Be nicer.
14. You are no way better than anybody else. No one is in anyway superior to you. Don't let them be.
15. You find a new kind of self after falling in and out of love. Embrace it.
16. Listen to your gut instincts. They're telling you something and they're usually right.
17. Your feelings are always valid.
18. Find who you are and what you like when you're alone.
19. What you put out in the universe does come back to you. What goes around always comes back around.
20. Appreciate your own successes.
And a few more for good measure?
You only have one body; take care of it. Water is always good for you no matter what. Your parents are usually right but it doesn't mean their dreams have to be your dreams too. You're never alone no matter how much it feels like you are. Find the people that want to be around you and want to be in your life. Treat yourself! All the time!
Do what you can to be a better version of yourself. You can never stop growing or learning or getting better. The bigger part of you will never let creativity die. Be a person your younger self would always be proud of. Be a person you're proud of.
20 years is a long time. And there were days a long, long time ago where I didn't even know what 20 would look like. Yet here we are, and I've never seen better. Happy Birthday to me. Is that even a thing? It is now anyways.
