Turning 20 is such a weird age. I'm not as excited as when I turned 19 or especially when I turned 18, but this year is different. I'm going into what my parents call "the best years of your life." This is supposed to be the decade that I figure things out and have fun. I can say I've learned a lot in these past twenty years.
1. Respect and be kind to yourself.
I used to be really mean to myself. Like most girls, unfortunately, I have self-esteem issues and body image issues. I felt terrible growing up because I was bigger than other girls. It took a really long time to love myself, and to realize if I'm healthy then that's all that matters. I am not the person who I was when I was younger, but I wish I had taken the time to not be so mean about how I looked growing up. (Everyone looks bad in middle school, it's not that deep). Self-care is a good and fun thing too! Make sure to be kind to your mind and body.
2. Ignore the people who don't like you.
One thing I wish I could go back in time and tell myself is to not care about those who don't like me. In middle school and high school, I took all of that stuff so seriously. I would go home so upset because some girl didn't like me. Well, that girl isn't me. She doesn't decide my future or my happiness. So I wish I could go and tell myself to just focus on the future. Not everyone is going to like you, so might as well keep on keeping on.
3. Keeping learning.
I am really happy that I am in college. I think that motivating myself to further my education is such an important thing. I want to be able to provide for myself and become a more understanding person. The only way to do that is to keep learning. For me, it's exciting to find out something new every day, even while I'm on summer break from college.
4. Be nice to everyone.
None of us know what the other person is doing in their private life. When I worked for Chick-fil-A, they taught us to be nice to everyone since we didn't know if that person was having a bad day. But honestly, I think it's the decent thing to do to be nice to everyone. I've met people that I was just a little kind towards and it helped me in the long run. I've been introduced to writers and publishers that have agreed to help me in my career, just because I was helpful to them. Also, when you work for tips, might as well be nice to everyone.
5. Spend time with friends, but also have some alone time.
There needs to be some sort of balance between your alone time and friend time. I'm an introvert who pretends to be an extrovert, so I know all about this now. Just go until you feel like you need some time for yourself. But don't ever feel bad if you need a day to yourself. You know you, so watch yourself and take care of your time.
