Now, most people would say at the beginning of the year that this is the year I’m going to dominate and that this year is my year and I’m not taking any L’s this year so on and so on. But I used to say this but then when I look back I see that I took plenty L’s but also plenty of Triumphs so I say its pretty much a year of learning.

As I sit here in the Carpe Diem coffee shop in Canton, Ohio I reflect on this year and see that I’ve matured and have grown and sometimes people don’t like growing up and I see why but at the same time I feel likeI’m coming into myself and I like the direction I feel I’m going in but here are the points.

1. No matter what happens you need to look at change as good.

My parents and I have moved twice in the last two years and I have come to realize that change is a good thing. We moved from West Chester, Ohio out in the suburbs of Cincinnati to what I think was the dopest apartment right on the Ohio River in the city of Cincinnati downtown in a building called One Lytle. At first, I realized that I absolutely hate moving boxes and packing and I was about to leave all of my friends that realized how much I hated change.

But in that moment you have to realize that you aren’t the only one expecting change that if its happening to you it's definitely happening to the people around you as well like my mom, dad, even my brother. Once you realized that change is happening around you also need to realize that you cant be a downer about it. Being sad and angry and not finding an answer to the solution gets nothing solved so all you can do is be happy about it.

2. If you want something done right do it your self.

Now I procrastinate just as much as the next guy but I realized this year that all that needs to end. When I was trying to get recruited to play lax in high school I had talked to my coaches and he would hit me with stuff like “ I know a couple coaches on the east coast” or “ ill send word about you to a couple coaches” you know things that would just get your hopes up but at the end all he was doing was sending them emails talking about you which is something I can do on my own. So why is my coach doing that when I can easily just promote myself with ease and way better because I know me so that’s why I started writing the emails and sending them game film myself and that transferred over to when I got to college trying to find an internship that I wanted.

All the teachers in the world can write your recommendations and such but you need to realize that they’re doing that on their dime, not yours and you need to promote yourself and then you know that you tried to contact them that day not asking someone “ hey did you talk to them yet?” I also don’t like when a task is up to other people that involve me. I don’t want to wait for someone to call someone about me when I can do it myself. I have realized this year to take things into my own hands not because I’m controlling but because I know I can do me better than anyone else.

3. Friends come and go but family is forever.

This was a year that had a lot of ups and downs but one thing you can rely on is your family being there for you. I felt like this year I was making friends for a lifetime but at the same time no one is at the same level of maturity or knowledge as you and that can be a big problem. At the same time you never know what people are going through but also as friends, you think talking out your problems can be as easy as 1,2,3 but usually, it doesn’t turn out like that. I’m 23 years old and at this age, it can be easy to relate to most people your age or that 21-25 gap and it's awesome but one little rift between you and someone can be enough to ruin friendships.

What also sucks is that even though problems between you and friend are happening what it's doing to your friends you might hate. Then you have to realize what happens when they start choosing sides. I’m not talking about choosing one side or the other but if they choose their own side.

What I mean by that is they might like both of you but they're going to do what benefits them and that’s what I feel like most people have a problem with but I realized that 98% of the people that you will meet in your life are selfish, not selfless. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, it's just the way people are and that’s okay because I see myself in this way sometimes. Very often you will see someone who is selfless but most of the time its someone that always gets the short end of the stick or walked all over.

I look at it like this analogy, when a plane is going down and the breathing apparatuses and hanging above you obviously you’re going to put the one on your face before putting it on the face of the person next to you. Same with life, help you before other even though it’s probably not the “right” thing to do. Besides that, I never have to realize that with my family.

I know that they will always have my back no matter what and that makes me feel good. I also don’t say I have “friends” I have “fam”. Those people who I’ve known for years that will do anything for me and me for them it just took me until this year to find out who those people are. I’ll end with a quote I love to hear and that’s this for the people reading this “ If you know, you know” and that’s very true.

4. Be creative all the time 24/7.

I think the worst thing someone could do is lose his or her creativity and childlike sense of wonder. I think to be creative and what makes people have the most fun and when I see older people who are fresh out of college absolutely hate their lives it makes me very sad. I’m in my 5th year at school and one thing I won’t let myself do is to hate what I do.

People go to college for years and feel like they know what they want to do but as soon as they leave they realized they hate it and that will not be me. I know the field I’m in and I love it I don’t do it for the money. I also like to have about 400 hobbies. Once you get older you need to have a bunch of things to do besides going to work and going home. I want to have so many extracurricular activities I have to cancel some to make more. The more creative you are the more fun you’re having.

5. Meet everyone and make connections.

I think this is the most important because you never know whom you're going to meet and the stories they can tell you. I got most addicted to social media and I still feel like that in my fifth year of college. As soon as I meet someone I want to know everything about them and I hope they want to know everything about me only for the fact that you never know when you're going to need that connection again. So the more you know the better you are.

I try to live my life by these five points because I feel like this is exactly what I need to be successful and happy in my life. I can’t wait for 2018 only for the fact I know I will begin the next chapter of my life and I can just feel my life is going to go into overdrive.