At the end of the month I will turn twenty years old, how did twenty short years go by so fast? I feel like when I am talking to others about growing up the questions that are always brought up are: “What would I change?” “What would I have done different?” These questions though aren’t my mindset about getting older, as I approach my twenties I realize that my mindset contains only the promises I plan to keep to myself in my next decade of life. I am currently asking myself questions of what I can do to better myself, how I can change the world for those around me and ultimately, what do I want out of the most exciting time in my life. These are the promises I plan to keep in my next years of life.

I promise to be vulnerable. I promise to overcome the terrifying idea of being vulnerable to others. I recently watched Brene’ Browns TED talk on “Listening to Shame” and was inspired by how vulnerable she has been. She stated in her talk, “Vulnerability is not weakness… Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of courage- to be vulnerable, to let ourselves be seen, to be honest.” I don’t want to be afraid to fail because that is when I will grow and I will become who I am supposed to be. I want to shout out my failure, not feel shamed because I didn’t succeed, I want others to learn from my mistakes. I promise to be vulnerable because from that vulnerability I will become who I want to be.

I promise to accept myself, unconditionally. All of my life I feel as though I have constantly been trying to lose weight or dress better. I wasn’t doing it for the right reasons though; I was doing it because I thought its what I needed to do to fit in with others. I don’t need others opinions to prove to me that I am beautiful. I have goals to meet and while I am still working towards those right now, I promise to love myself whether I reach them or not.

I promise to own up to your mistakes and apologize. If you can’t admit your wrong doings, you can’t grow from them. Take responsibility. It strengthens relationships when you apologize to those that you have done wrong, don’t be afraid to.

I promise to find friends that ignite my soul and then hold onto them tight. Life is too short to waste time with those that are toxic to you. Its important to find friends that build you up, support you and are always there for you. Find friends that make you want to be a better person and be just as good of a friend back to them.

I promise to love someone who truly loves you back. I don’t know how many times I have over heard the stories of one-night stands and being with a lot of different people, don’t be that person. Every time we date it should be with someone that we could see a future with, someone who brings out the best in you, someone who truly loves you. Don’t rush into anything, get to know him and once you find him, vow to love him fiercely.

I promise to use my passion’s to change the world. Since I was a little girl I have always said that when I got older I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives. I didn’t know how I was going to but I knew that someday I would. I have always loved volunteering and attending events to support others. In my future career I hope to combine both and even if I don’t change the whole world, I plan to change at least one persons world.

I promise to be a role model to others. In my life I have an abundance of little cousins, which means lots of eyes watching what you do. I aspire to be a great role model for them, to teach them to work hard, to reach for their dreams no matter what they are. I promise to be a person they can always come to, someone they can look up to and the best big cousin I can be.

I promise to stand up for what I believe in and respect the opinions of others at the same time. The older I get the more my feelings for subjects concrete and are something I am passionate about. I promise to stand up for those who cant stand up for themselves; I promise to work for a future that makes everyone equal.

I promise to travel as much as I can and see as many places as possible. I have always had a love for traveling; there is something special about being in a new place with so many things to explore. I want to see as many places as I can in my next ten years.

While these promises are only a few that I want to keep to myself in my twenties there are also so many other things I want to do. I hope to not only keep my promises to myself in my twenties but to also be a genuinely good person and grow as a person. I can’t wait to take on my twenties.