The infamous Kylie Jenner made headlines when she realized that in 2016, she began to "realize things"... But instead of making fun of her I can say I agree because I too have realized things.. I know, shocker isn't it. I realized that I'm now heading into my 20's and that I'm not as stupid as I think I am and that I have learned a thing or two in the past 20 years of living life!
1. "Growing up" does not start until after high school
Sorry ladies but some boys do not change after high school. Because from what I've seen.. they mess up even more in college. As goes for ladies and everybody in general, after high school you'll learn to grow up but you're going to make some hefty mistakes and learn a couple life lessons first in order for that to happen.
2. "Adulting" is real
The term "adulting" was created by our generation because we needed a word to describe our feelings of how hard it is to take care, support, and provide for ourselves. Am I wrong? We used to complain about the homework we had in high school and the chores we had to do but now you wish you could be a kid with those simple tasks again instead of "adulting".
3. Your family should always be #1 in your hearts
Along with being grateful for your childhood, you should also remain grateful for your parents. Just because you turned 18 and have the legal freedom to move out and do what you want without their permission does not mean you exclude them from your life. My parents and my brother will remain as my best friends forever because family will always be there when friends come and go.
4. Friends come and go
As I mentioned above, the sad and unfortunate truth about friends is that they come and go as life progresses. Yes you will meet a handful of besties you might be able to keep for the rest of your life but your bff's from high school will probably not be your bridesmaids when you're getting married and your first bestie you made in college might become an enemy, who knows.
5. #5 stands for the 5 minute rule
"If its not going to matter in 5 years, then don't spend more than 5 minutes being upset by it". Its usually never worth it so lets get a move on.
6. Your first love is just your FIRST
The end of a first love is undeniably one of the worst breakups, trust me I feel you. That initial pain, sadness, and emptiness you feel seems like it will last a life time. But truth is, you will meet someone else in due time. Or you will find your way back to whoever that special someone is. Whatever happens will happen so believe it when it comes to who ends up staying or leaving you in your life.
7. Commit to loving yourself before you try loving someone else
Losing yourself for someone else happens all the time in "young love" and most of the time.. you let it happen. Have the respect and dignity for yourself to know when it is time to walk away, when it is time to speak up, and when it is time to state your own individuality in a relationship. You want to be " two peas in a pod" with your significant other? Then go do that, but remember the two peas are not identical, you can be and should be your own person in a relationship!! It would be weird to be dating your identical twin now wouldn't it?
8. Drinking is overrated
If you're one of those people who look forward to the weekends solely to drink and get "f*ked up!" then news flash.. you're not cool. Occasionally celebrating with some drinks is fun when you exercise that privilege casually. I mean have you heard of things like exploring new places, trying new things, and making new memories.. not blacking out and losing your memory.
9. Open the door for people who want to leave
If they don't treat you right, let them leave. If he doesn't want to be with you, let him leave. If they don't want to be your friend anymore, let them leave. It's a very simple concept. They're doing you a favor when they want to leave because clearly they weren't meant to or deserved to be a part of your journey anyways. They'll see what they missed out on.
10. Being popular isn't cool anymore
Quickly you will realize that having hundreds of "friends" isn't as great as it seems. And the more you grow up, the more you'll realize it's hard enough to find a handful of people you can actually trust with your life. And as you grow more private, you'll realize having hundreds of friends doesn't exactly scream "stay out of my business".
11. Establish a routine
I've learned how crucial it is to have a routine in my day to day life. Without one I feel lost and unproductive. Make sure you set aside time to get your work done, to see friends, to eat dinner with your family, to play with your dog, to workout and etc. The little bits that make up your whole day are more important than you think.
12. Get rid of bad habits.. NOW
Habits as we know tend to stay, linger, and lurk through our lives for a very long time. A bad habit that you don't try to fix now can turn into terms like "alcoholic", "drug addict", or "lung cancer" in the future. So come to terms with your dirty habits and get to it.
13. Failing is more important than success
Yeah you might think I sound crazy but if you think about it, you absolutely cannot succeed unless you have failed first. It's just not plausible to perfectly execute something on the first try, and even if you think you did well guess what.. it can probably be executed better. You learn by failing and success only gives you affirmation of your failures.
14. Choose to be nice
I promise you being petty, bitter, and rude is draining and pointless. Just be nice.
15. You can't plan out your life
Coming from a control freak life myself, I meticulously plan everything that goes on in my life day to day. But I've come to realize that surprises will happen no matter how perfectly you planned. There will be a couple times where you'll be glad things did not go accordingly as planned, trust me.
16. Nobody knows what they're doing
It's OK and actually totally normal to not have your sh*t together by 20 years old.
17. You think you're old but you're not
Yes being 20 is kinda old but its kinda not. You literally have decades upon decades ahead so when you're freaking out, just remember that you're only in your 20's. On a scale of 100, yeah... 20 is nothing.
18. Stop having F.O.M.O
Not every party or social gathering is important. Half of those events are a waste of your time I guarantee you that. If you want to stay home and have a night to yourself, then do it because I promise it's a lot more beneficial than sipping extra calories and committing mistakes you told yourself you weren't going to do... yeah harmlessly watching Netflix sounds like the better option here!
19. Time goes by so fast
Yes you're already in your 20's already (gasp)!!
20. Make your experiences, adventures, and memories happen
Don't bury yourself in school work 24/7, don't work obsessively, and don't obsess over getting married. Just go do what you want while you can because you're in your 20's!
