You feel a lot older than you did at 21...
Once you turn 22, you feel like you've aged a lot more than a year compared to when you turned 21. You've experienced quite a bit of things, I mean come one, you are over two decades old. 21 you vs. 22 you are entirely different.
But you still have A LOT to learn.
Hate to break it to you, but no matter how old you feel, you still have a lifetime of lessons to learn. Each day is a reminder that no matter how much you want to, you don't know everything.
Don't be afraid to ask for help.
You don't know everything, but we need to use the people in our lives to help us move forward and succeed. Swallow your pride and ask for help when you need it. When someone asks you for help though, don't make them feel bad for not knowing something. We all have been there.
If someone is below 20 years old, they are an infant.
Sorry, younger friends, but if you're below the age of 20, you have the rep of being a baby. There isn't really a huge age gap in reality, but it ages us older folks hearing that you were born in the 2000s.
We're caught in this weird pop-culture shift.
You can say YOLO proudly like its 2013 and know what it means. The word yeet might come out of your mouth time to time, and you wonder what exactly you are saying. You're caught in this pop-culture gray area where you're young enough for some popular things right now, but you're still a little lost on the lingo from time to time.
You can't eat like you used to.
Back in the good old days, you could chow down without a worry in the world. One it seems like you can't physically eat as much as you did in high school. Two, if you do eat like you used to, it looks like your metabolism slows down each year, and you find yourself eating more and more salads. You do have your occasional binge nights/afternoons/morning, where you eat your weight in food with no worries.
Not everyone you've met is your friend.
Whether it is your roommate, coworker, or your chem partner, not everyone you meet in life will have your back You learn the hard way sometimes that even if people might "be in your corner" they don't want to see you succeed or be happy.
There is nothing wrong with having a smaller friend group.
On the flip side, you start to find your people. The ride or die, the ones who will laugh and cry with you throughout all of your adventures. No matter the distance or time, your friend group may be smaller than when you were in high school, but your friendships are stronger than ever before.
Your family is everything.
As you grow older, you realize the importance of family in your life. As a teenager, it seemed like you spent a lot of times rolling your eyes or being embarrassed by family, but now you would do anything for them.
Expensive doesn't always mean better.
It doesn't matter if your cost total looks like a phone number, more expensive items don't always mean they are better. You realize that there are products that worth splurging on that work best for you, but there are inexpensive and dupes for products that will meet all your needs. You just need to learn this before running up your credit card bill.
Everyone is faking it till they make it.
A terrifying but also comforting thought is that we all don't know what we are doing. As you grow older, you learn and listen to older adults who admit that no one really knows what's going on. Life is a lot of winging it and opening for the best.
Your life does not need to look like Pinterest.
Your life is not always going to look like Pinterest. It can be planning your wedding, an outfit, or what you will be having for dinner. The sooner you realize that life is not always going to look like what you see on a screen, the sooner you can find happiness with the things you do have.
You start to look at a lot of clothes for your career not just for fun.
At 22, you're at this teetering point in your life where you need to start focusing more on your career than "fun things." You look up business suits, or the best sneakers to be on your feet for 12 hours or anything that will make you stand out and fit in in your job.
Your patience is still thin.
Patience is still a virtue. No matter how old you getting, there will be moments where your patience is as thin as ice and you're this close to having a tantrum.
No matter how old people get, there will be some who are immature.
Fact: you will meet people in life even if they are decades older than you, who still act like they are 16. There is nothing with being a child at heart, but we will deal with people who are immature and have no thoughts about their actions ever.
Naps really can help you during your day.
Naps are not just for children, if you have the time and chance to get a few z's. Do it. Give yourself a chance to rest even if it does not include sleep. I feel like in our lives we are constantly moving at 100 miles per hour, and we need a moment to recharge our batteries.
You need to find "your thing."
You need to find things that create happiness for you. You need to make sure to have these things, whether it is reading, working out, or cooking, to give yourself "me time." Sometimes it is okay to be selfish and set up time just for you, because guess what you are important.
The next most exciting birthday is when you're 25.
Lower car insurance. You can rent a passenger van. You can get this gif as a birthday cake. A sad reality is once you are past the age of 21, there isn't the "excitement" of something happening. Except for 25. Then when you turn 50, you start to get AARP discounts. Yay for getting older!
Being rejected is needed.
Sometimes, you just need to be told no. It can be from a person you thought was your soulmate, a scholarship, or an organization. Being told no is a humbling experience and is a chance to reevaluate what you truly need. The pain is worth it in the end.
Life is too short to live it for other people.
Your happiness matters, and if people in your life are bringing you down, you do not need them. There is a difference between a supportive friend who gives constructive criticism and a friend who doesn't want you to succeed. Do not sell yourself short for the sake of other people's happiness. It is okay to be selfish sometimes, but you can't always.
There is still so much left to do.
There is a lot to do on your to-do list and in life in general. 22 is still so young, and the world is yours for the taken. Go make it yours. See the world. Pet all the doggos. Eat all the pasta. Live your life, YOLO.
22 is not the end of the world.
It can be a little sad once you go from 21 to 22, but 22 is not worth being upset about. There is no crying in baseball and there shouldn't be crying in another year. Not everyone has the chance to live to the age of 22, and so many people would love to go back to the age you are now.
I'm only 22. I've laughed, cried, and everything in between a lot throughout my life, and I know there is a lot more for me. Age is just a number, somewhat, and I can't wait to see where the next 22 years will take me. Being 22 isn't the lame duck year, its the year of starting to really figure out who you are and what's next.
20 Lessons I Learned Before I Turned 20
I have learned so much over these past 20 years, but I still have a long way to go.
Let's face it, turning 20 is a weird thing. You can drive at 16, you are a legal adult at 18 and you can drink at 21, so in the grand scheme of things, 20 is an insignificant age. However, when you turn 20, and that suffix of "teen" is no longer behind your age, it hits you. You're not a kid anymore. When you make mistakes at 20, people don't defend you anymore by saying, "Oh she's just young, she doesn't know any better." When you're 20, you are expected to have your shit together because you should have accumulated a vast amount of knowledge over these past 20 years, and let me tell you, that fucking sucks. But this is not a post of regret, this is a post of reflection. So please enjoy 20 years of lessons that I had no idea I was learning.
1. It's ok to make mistakes.
Hannah Montana said it best, "nobody's perfect." You're going to mess up so much in life, but you would never grow if you didn't make a mistake here and there.
2. Sometimes, you're going to be in the right, but when you are in the wrong, don't try to hide it or fight to prove your point. Just own that you were wrong and move on.
Being right 100% of the time is not only not natural, but not healthy. No one knows everything.
3. You have to fight for what you want, nothing is handed to you.
Working hard will get you so much further in life, so don't just sit around expecting good things to come your way.
4. Appreciate every day you have, whether good or bad.
You are still alive, you are still breathing. Those two things in and of themselves are the greatest blessings.
5. In bad situations, it's all about how you react.
You can make the best out of every situation, and nothing is ever past the point of fixing.
6. There's no weakness in asking for help.
If you try to take care of everything yourself, you will wind up exhausted and probably worse off then you were before. Asking for help is actually one the smartest and strongest things you can do.
7. Always be open to listening to other perspectives. Who knows, you could maybe learn something from them.
Every person you meet is going to have different experiences from you, so they must likely won't agree with you on everything. But just because they may not side with your point, doesn't mean you shouldn't listen to them.
8. When you are happy, don't look for reasons why you shouldn't be. Just be happy.
Don't keep looking for something bad coming around the corner, just enjoy being happy. Being comfortable in your happiness is one of the hardest things to do (trust me, I know), but it is so worth it in the end.
9. Take advice from those older than you, they do know a few things.
Whether it's your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, professors, or an old dude on the street, they have lived a lot more life than you, so they definitely have learned a few more lessons.
10. Life will throw curveballs at you, don't try to dodge them.
Curveballs and obstacles are a natural part of life, so don't try to dodge them, just handle them as they come at you.
11. Find something to be thankful for everyday.
Whether it is something trivial or major, there is always something out there to be thankful for.
12. If someone isn't treating you the way you deserve to be treated, leave them behind.
The sooner your recognize that you are being treated like shit, the sooner you can change things. Don't settle with being treated poorly, no one deserves that.
13. There is such a thing as luck, but it's not a given.
Luck comes to those deserving of it, so, basically, don't be an asshole.
14. Don't try to look like everybody else. Relish in what makes you unique.
If everybody looked and acted exactly the same, the world would be a pretty boring place. There's only one you in the world, so be awesome.
15. Having a few close friends is much better than having a lot of fake ones.
Your close friends will be there for you no matter what, so it is so essential to have those people who you know you could come to anytime, any day, anywhere.
16. Don't go looking for love, it will find you.
The age old saying, "Love will come when you least expect it" is so unbelievably true, so don't try to force it. If it's meant to be, it will be.
17. Do what you love, love what you do.
Find a job that makes you hop out of bed every morning, eager to face what the day will bring. You will be a whole lot happier in the long run.
18. Don't waste your time trying to get people to like you. The people who do like you will show it.
When you find people who truly love you for who you are, it all comes easily.
19. Trust your gut. You know when things are right and when they are wrong.
Intuition is a very powerful thing, so harness it. At the end of the day, no one knows you better than you know yourself.
20. I still have a lot to learn.
I cannot wait to see what more lessons the rest of my life will hold. Bring it on baby!