Life Lessons

• What other people think about you isn’t any of your business. What your mind whispers to you of dark things and insecurity when you lay awake isn’t any of your concern, either.
• True love is not always kind. Sometimes it is messy, full of uncertainty, and will hurt you in ways you can’t anticipate ever coming. It is also, 100% of the time, ALWAYS WORTH IT when you are with the person who grows with you, allows you to be who you are, and fights through it with you.
• Respect yourself enough to know the difference between someone who loves and cares about you and someone who doesn’t. People who love you don’t look to destroy you. Ever. Even the slightest bits of you – they help you grow and change when and how you want to, but people who love you don’t degrade you, don’t undermine you, and will not ever try to hold you back.
• Never, ever, ever look at every situation with your cynical lenses first. Instead, be critical. Research things. Take your time. Don’t rush. And most importantly, trust yourself.
• On the same note: Make goals but be prepared for them to evolve over time. Something that’s important to you now for your “life plans” may dissolve in 6 months. Allow those things to happen. Sometimes the best doors look like parts of the wall at first.
• Bad things are going to happen to you. That doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person. Ever.
• Good things are going to happen to you, too. That doesn’t mean you’re a good person. Ever.
• Your knee jerk reactions say more about you than your calculated ones do. Check yourself. Sometimes you are going to be the jerk in the scenario.
• And to that point: You will be the villain in someone else’s story at least once in your life. How people perceive your actions isn’t something you can control. Strive to be your authentic self and be good to others, but never for one minute think that you’re absolved because of it.
• Whether you believe it or not, the world would be dimmer without you. There are people to whom your presence means the world. Remind yourself of that every. single. day.
• Always walk with purpose. Make every decision one that brings you to the ultimate of your happiness and fulfillment. The rest doesn’t mean anything at all.
• The universe has no checks and balances system and things will come at you when you least expect it to without any rhyme or reason. Be kind to yourself. Most of the time, things that happen to you will have absolutely nothing to do with you.
• Tell people how you feel without fear and without embarrassment. The people that run from this truth won’t make a difference to you in 5 years, and shouldn’t make a difference now. What will make a difference is how you will feel when you want to say things to someone and will never get the opportunity again.
• Be fierce in your love and loyalty. Do not seek to change and control those you care for, but rather, see their beauty and respect it.

Onward to another year and more lessons 🙂 ❤