Though I’m only 18 years old and still have a lot of life left to live, I’ve learned many lessons in those years that have helped me along the way. These are just a few of the many things I’ve learned:
- Do things that make you happy. It doesn’t matter what other people think. If something brings you joy and you love it, don’t let other people hold you back from being who you are. This is your life -- make the most of it and do what is best for you regardless of what other people think.
- Eat the slice of chocolate cake. It’s good for the heart and soul. Life is too short to worry about the extra calories and let good dessert go to waste.
- Be kind to people. You never know what is going on in someone’s life. Everyone has their own struggles. One kind word or a smile can go a long way, even if it doesn’t always seem like it.
- Don’t buy an article of clothing unless you absolutely love it. If you don’t love it in the store, you won’t love it in your closet, and it’ll hang in your closet for years, never worn.
- Wear what you feel comfortable in. Even if it isn’t the latest trend or if other people don’t like it, if an outfit makes you happy and you feel good about yourself, then go out and rock it!
- Nobody really cares that much about what you wear/do/say. Most people are too worried about how they look and what they’re doing -- they don’t care that much about what you’re doing. So just be you and don’t think about what other people might say about you.
- Go to class. No matter how hard it is, get your butt out of bed and get to class.
- Compliment people. If you like what someone has on, or if they look good that day, tell them. One compliment can go a long way and make that person’s day so much better.
- If you’re wearing opened toed shoes, always paint your nails and keep your toes looking pretty!
- Quality is better than quantity. Make a few close friends that you can trust with anything. It’s better to have fewer friends that you love and can trust than more friends that you don’t trust or don’t even really like.
- Value your friendships. Your friends are the family you get to choose, so choose well and be a good friend to them.
- Spend time with your family. Because one day you’ll be packing up for college and you won’t know when you’ll see them again. These are the people you’ve known your entire life, and they made you who they are. Respect that.
- Don’t dwell on the past. You can’t change what has already happened, but you can work toward the future to make it better.
- Nothing is just handed to you. You have to work for what you want; nothing in life is free. When you work harder for something, when you finally get it, it feels so much better than if it was just handed to you.
- Do things right the first time. You’ll end up spending more time on a project if you do it wrong three times than if you had just done it correctly the first time.
- Whining and complaining gets you nowhere. Just suck it up and move on.
- Less is more. Especially when it comes to makeup. Do not, I repeat, do not cake it on and wear mountains of foundation, eyeshadow, bronzer, highlighter, etc. Blending is key; otherwise, you’ll just end up looking like an orange.
- You’ll regret the chances you didn’t take more than the mistakes you’ve made. It’s better to make mistakes, try new things and be adventurous than sit at home and wonder “what if.”
