If you are short, perhaps you desire to be tall. If your hair is brown, you might want to dye it blonde. That is the problem with humans. We crave too much and appreciate too little. Desires leave us dreaming of a future that often never comes, while preventing us from appreciating the beauty of a moment.” -Lynette Simeone

1. People change.

We all want more friends. More people in our life that we can trust. But we have to accept that people change. You may know them so well, but people are just like seasons. People will leave. Sometimes you have to let them. We often don’t appreciate things until we lose them. Loss teaches us about the worth of things. Eventually you’ll stop taking things for granted.

2. You can survive just fine on your own.

We crave love. We crave cliches. That cliche movie kind of love. We want someone to bring us roses and kiss us on the front porch. We want that so badly. But you have to let go of the idea that you need to be in a relationship to be happy. People are not your oxygen. Do not rely on other human beings for your happiness.

3. Everything does not happen for a reason.

Sometimes bad things happen to us. They might tear us apart, destroy us, and make us feel broken, but I can promise you, you’ll feel okay again. There is no reason for it. Not every bad thing results in something good. We attempt to give meaning to things that have no meaning. We comfort ourselves with the idea that all things happen for a reason, but the truth is, they don’t.

4. Maybe everything won't be okay.

We like to tell ourselves that it will be. We convince ourselves that things will be okay in the end in order to comfort ourselves, blinding us from the fact that maybe things won’t be okay. We can’t be so sure that everything will work out. Sometimes things don't.

5. Nothing really matters.

Things really don’t matter as much as you think they do. They just don’t. We think bad things are the end of the world when they really don't matter. Get up. Keep going. Life goes on.

6. You think you have time, but you don't.

One day you’re in high school and it feels like forever until you’ll get out. But then you’re deciding what to do for the rest of your life and suddenly you’re an adult and you realize that you think you have all the time in the world, but you don’t.

7. Expectations only lead to disappointment.

When you expect things, you will be let down. That's because simple things become complicated when you expect too much. Instead, have no expectations. Less expectations lead to more appreciation.

8. Life will never be perfect, no matter how hard you try.

We often think life is going to be full of constant love, parties, and adventure. But it's not. Life is amazing. Then it's awful. Then it's amazing again. Then it's just a mundane routine. You'll learn that life will never be perfect. There’s wonderful parts and awful parts. The bad parts? Those are experiences, and you have to experience life to appreciate life.