Nineteen is an odd age (and number) because you've crossed the threshold of legal adulthood, and the brand-new feeling of "independence" at 18 has worn off. You're not truly an adult, but you are no longer a child or an adolescent. At 19, I've learned lessons that have brought me insight, closure and happiness.

1. You create your own happiness. You also create your own misery.

2. Love does not die along with a person. It's free, infinite and will not fade.

3. You are stronger than you think. I repeat, you are stronger than you think.

4. Money does not grow on trees.

5. Wash your dark clothes in cold water so they don't fade.

6. Time does heal. Be patient.

7. Some days you will cry so hard you cannot breathe; the next you'll laugh so hard you cannot breathe. Everything is temporary.

8. Appreciate what you have -- your health, your family, your friends.

9. If you love someone tell them. Do not be bashful with your love, do not hold back.

10. Make time for people -- your grandmother, your little sister. I bet it will make their day.

11. Get your ass out of bed and watch sunrises. They're beautiful and we miss too many of them.

12. Losing someone is devastating. But you cannot dwell on their absence and miss out on your own life ahead of you. After all, you should know better than anyone else that life is short and tomorrow is not promised.

13. Keep an emergency 50 dollar bill tucked away in your wallet. Don't use it on a shopping "emergency." Save it in case you ever needed it, and eventually you won't even want to touch it.

14. Thank your parents more often.

15. Stop putting things off, be proactive and productive. You'll feel so much better.

16. Take time for yourself. Go for a long drive, sit in a park for an hour.

17. Vodka sneaks up on you.

18. Read for pleasure more often.

19. Be your truest self.