Our generation is at that age where we think we have everything figured out, we feel as though because we go to school and hold somewhat meaningful jobs we classify as adults. However, a lot of us still call our mothers to ask her what temperature we should bake the casserole and call our fathers to ask how to change a flat tire. We don’t have everything figured out which is perfectly normal. We have our entire lives to figure it out seeing as life didn’t come with instructions, it takes some TLC if you will. We will make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. Getting to this point in my life, I am starting to see certain things that I should be doing, things that many people in my generation should be doing, but they probably aren’t even thinking about it.
1. Say what you need to say.
Everyone says that life is short and you should do everything you can to live it to the fullest. Life is not short, it’s the longest thing you will ever do. Although it is not short, you should still try to live it to the fullest. Today everyone walks on eggshells because they are afraid if they say something someone doesn’t like, it will end badly. If you have something that is sitting on the tip of your tongue and you feel you should say it, you should, as long as it’s not going to harm anyone what is the worst thing that could happen? You should be allowed to voice your opinion. You should also tell your family you love them, as we grow older some of us forget our parents and grandparents are growing old as well and one day you might have missed your chance.
2. Save money.
In an article "Well Educated" by Lauren Yingling she states that about ninety percent of millennials today say they plan on attending college when they graduate high school. Unfortunately, about half of the students who do go to college will drop out at one point or another, and if they took out student loans they will have to start paying them back within six months of being out of school. Loans are not cheap depending on the school you attend. It’s important to start thinking about how we are going to not only pay back loans, but what’s the next step after college. Will we go rent an apartment, will we crash on a friends couch or end up back under our parents' roof? With any one of these options you still need money, to sustain life, and finding a high paying job right out of college is not a dependable plan. It’s in our best interests to start taking ‘X’ amount of money from our paychecks now and put it in savings so we at least have something. We might end up on our friends couches, but we won’t have to eat ramen all the time.
3. Exercise.
I’m not here to nag you and tell you to wake up at 6 a.m. and go to Crossfit. But sitting on the couch with your Twinkies binge watching the entire series of "Grey’s Anatomy" in one week definitely isn’t healthy. If you’re really that lazy and don’t want to leave your bed, start doing exercises that you can do lying down. For example, plank during the opening song, or do a crunch every time Karev says something rude. It’s a win win really. If you do end up getting off the couch, walking to go get food, or walking to classes would be helpful too.
4. Eat Better.
Ramen noodles are between 32 and 38 percent sodium, on top of 26-27 carbs per serving. You can eat ramen every once in awhile, like when you can only find a dollar in quarters under the rug. But it would be very beneficial to eat an apple or maybe six, and no angry orchard doesn't count for all of you old enough to drink. The internet is a wonderful place full of healthy recipes perfect for children, or in this case college students.
5. Love Yourself.
In the hustle and bustle of life with school, work, classes, friends, our parents and social media more often than not we push things to the back burner trying to please others. We forget to take the time to make ourselves happy. It’s important to love yourself, if you don’t love yourself you won’t fully love others or live life to the fullest.
Life seems to be coming at us full speed ahead, so it's important to take control and figure out what's next for you!
