On August 22nd, I'll be turning nineteen years old. Yup, that weird inbetween year after you're officially an adult but not yet fully out of your teenage years. Growing up is weird, you learn a lot from experiences that you have no idea how to cope with. I took my experiences and laid them out in lessons for everyone. Feel free to learn and grow from them.

Lesson One: People come and go.

I'm sure everyone has experienced this in their life. It's the sad part about going up. You meet people who you just click with. It becomes an inseparable bond almost. To me, that's the most magical kind of bond. However, people soon grow apart. Days spent on the phone, blabbing away about life soon run dry. Soon there's no more phone calls, no whacky stories about your future lives, and eventually, they're just gone. Accepting the fact that they can just get up and go is the hard part. When this occurs to me, I like to sit back and realize this: people come and go. It happens all the time, that's just life. There doesn't need to be a reason, sometimes you just grow apart, and when that happens, it's time to move on. Sure it hurts, but the pain will soon be eased with the good things. I like to tell myself all the time, if it was meant to be, it would be. If they were meant to be in your life, they would stay.

Lesson Two: Take the chance and run with it.

I have extreme anxiety, I'm sure everyone around me knows this. My anxiety jumps in the way of almost every decision I make, of course it's tiring. However, one thing I learned with this to constantly challenge myself. I've let far too many opportunities slip out of my hands because I was too nervous to act on them. So if you want something, chase it. Do you have an opportunity in front of you? If so, grab it. Take it and run. Don't regret it later on because at the end of the day, you'll always learn something from every experience in your life.

Lesson Three: Don't stress the small things.

Life is short. Whether you choose to accept that fact or not, it's undeniable that our time alive is limited. With that being said, there's no time to stress on the small things in life. Your hair looks a little out of place? Hat. That person isn't texting you back? They'll answer, if not it's their loss. The store is out of a product? Get a raincheck and come back next week. There's no room in life to be upset about the small things. Close your eyes and breathe, you're alive. That's what matters, not the stupid coupon that doesn't scan.

Lesson Four: Listen.

Listen. Listen to everything. Listen to your friend's favorite band. Listen to the stranger that wants to tell you story. Listen to your dad's childhood stories. Listen to your mom's rants. Listen to your partner's story about their day. Listen to everyone. Someone wants to tell you something they think you should hear. Listen. The best way to learn is through listening.

Lesson Five: Don't take 8am classes.

Don't.