In my personal opinion, millennials may be the most interesting group of people. Yeah, maybe I am bias because I am one of them... but we are living in a time of change, a time of growth. And with every day, we also grow and change. That is why I have found that selfishness may not be as bad as it seemed when we were punished for not sharing our toys in preschool.
Society encourages us to grow, mature and learn every day. But how can we do that if we aren't thinking about ourselves and making ourselves a priority? Putting ourselves first at this time in our lives is not a bad thing. Sometimes, it can even get us farther in life and make us a better person in the future.
If there is one thing I have learned, it's that you have to be happy and fall in love with yourself before you can give someone else the love they deserve. If you don't know what you deserve, how can you give another human being what they deserve? It's not possible.
You have to do what is best for you, always. Right now, it's just us. We don't have anyone dependent on us and no one else is affected by what we do. Ten years from now, we could have a spouse or even little ones who need us more than anything. So why not take advantage of this time we have for ourselves? Doing that will help us become the best person we can be and will prepare us for those next 10 years... so we can be dependable wives, husbands, mothers, and fathers.
We, as college students, have so much life ahead of us we are preparing for (even if we have no idea what we should be preparing for). But this is the time to do things... I challenge every millennial to do one thing that scares them every single day. Take risks... if we aren't, are we even living? Do whatever the hell you want, whenever you want. Want to travel? Go do it. I encourage you to go somewhere new every year. Hell, every month. The world is out there for us to see, why not do it now?
If there are two people you should worry about, it's your parents. When they call, answer. If they want to see you, go visit. They are there for you no matter what and are the ones who have made you into the person you are today. Their advice is gold... solid gold. Listen to it. We are getting older so fast we often forget that they are getting older too.
If anyone my age is reading this and they only take away one thing from this, I hope it is this: Never put your happiness in the hands of someone else. They drop it. They drop it every time. Create your happiness each day. Find it in the little things that happen-- like the barista putting a heart by your name at Starbucks. Or an old friend sharing a memory with you on Facebook. Or you know what? Make happiness out of the fact that you woke up to another sunny day.
At the end of every day it's just you. And most days, it's you who is going to have to save your own little heart. Pick up the pieces and find joy in the fact that you still have those around you who love and appreciate you.
Be selfish and make your own happiness. Don't let anyone else define your life for you.
