"What we learn?"

Seems simple enough, but there's plenty we learn- plenty I've learned- throughout college.

Work Hard, Play Hard

Hard work will always pay off. It pays off in the connections you make, the experience you earn, and the feeling that you've accomplished something. And when you know that you've worked toward something, it gives that thing or experience more meaning and value. It pays off not giving up. It pays off getting the connections in and out of your desired field. And even though you may not get recognition, you know that you do a good job. So, does recognition really matter if you're doing something you love?

Hidden Lives

People hide more than what it seems. You may have a lot more in common than you thought, experiences that can relate, but you'll never know unless you both open up. We each hold so many secrets, things we don't want others to judge us on, or things that have hurt us in the past, things we don't know how to verbalize. And there's so much more to us than what we may let the world see. We all have such intricate, complex lives. It's nearly impossible to see a whole person- their past, present, and future and what went into each moment that has built them into the person they are and will be. All too much we only see the surface- what they want us to see. And we do the same.

Vulnerability

Vulnerability is rough. It can be good at times, and it can hurt you at times. You can open yourself up to a person and then that person may end up hurting you. Or a person opens up to you and you don't know how to respond. Vulnerability is tricky. Sometimes you just have to bear it. It takes courage to trust someone enough to be vulnerable with them, to share with them things you wouldn't just tell anyone.

Snakes In The Garden

People are snakes. Sure, some people you can trust, but some people you can't. And you gotta weed the snakes from your garden. You don't need that in your life. Sometimes you may not want to let those snakes go, but you need to, because they aren't going to benefit you. They're going to hurt you more. And do you really want the drama they bring in your life? Your life will be much lighter without it.

Support

Your support system is there. Sometimes you just don't see it. Sometimes it takes you falling to see that support system in full force, coming to help you out. This is why it's important to tend to all your relationships, to be there for others because they really will be there for you when you need it most.

Live Broken

You learn to live with the pain. You learn to let it just be a dull pulse instead of a stabbing throb. Your vision won't be in black and white anymore, but it may not be as bright as before. There might be a slight haze to the world, but it won't be as bad as it was before.

Leather Jackets & Long Islands

Sometimes a good night out is what you need. Sometimes a few weekends in a row. It doesn't hurt to slip on that leather jacket and those boots, busting up into the bar like a badass on a Friday and/or Saturday night just to order drinks and dance with friends. It won't take your problems away, but for just one night, you can put the problems and insecurities aside and have fun. Find what your "leather jacket & long island" is (it doesn't have to be going out, it's essentially whatever you consider to be a good time that will make you forget your troubles for one night).

Create

Use your experiences to create. Pain can create some of the most beautiful artwork. "Flying sparks paint pretty pictures" as a friend of mine once said. And it's very true. Use whatever you have as your creative fuel, because whatever you use from experience, will make your art- your story- more authentic and relatable. Take it from someone who has received those comments from her fiction workshop class.

Just The Way You Are

You're beautiful as you are. You don't need to change for anyone. Your "flaws" are what make you YOU. You are unique, there's no one who is composed as carefully as you are with your particular appearance, experience, likes, dislikes, fears and dreams. Something I've grown more comfortable with has been my body as a whole. I feel good in my own skin, that I am attractive as myself and I don't need YOUR validation to know it or be aware of it.

Flex On 'Em

Strength can be big and little. Your strength isn't just physical. Your strength is mental, spiritual, emotional. Not snapping or texting someone takes strength, taking the high road takes strength. It takes strength to continue to have faith when you feel faithless. It takes strength to try something new or keep a fresh routine. There will be times where your strength will be expressed in big, significant moments and little, fleeting moments. And if someone says you're not strong: flex on 'em. Prove them wrong.

So Much More

You are capable of so much more. You can do better. You just need to believe it. Because if there's one person that is stopping you, it's yourself. If you don't believe in yourself or in your abilities or your standards, who's going to believe YOU? All that self doubt and self loathing? That needs to stop. You need to pick yourself up, because you are so much more.