By the time you read this, I will be nineteen years old. Although nothing really changes from eighteen to nineteen, other than arriving at your last year of being a teenager, a lot alters from seventeen to eighteen, just as a lot alters in college. As an aspiring future educator, and a life-long learner, I always find myself in these reflective states every time some sort of chapter in my life closes, I suppose in hopes that the next one can be improved upon or that I might come to some genius conclusion as to what I need to improve upon to make my life better and ultimately, just make myself a better person. I’ve learned a lot at eighteen, especially with all of my still (admittedly) rather fresh new responsibility and freedom. I thought I’d share some of my insights here with eighteen life lessons I learned at eighteen:

1. Don’t stress yourself out over one less than satisfactory performance/occurrence.

You will make plenty more mistakes in your lifetime than just that one, you already have, and it will turn out just fine. Nothing you do incorrectly will be more than a blip of the radar, as all things pass with time. Remember not to fret when something is received poorly or is not completed to your liking, you will be provided unfathomable and uncountable opportunities for success in the future.

2. It’s fine, everything’s fine.

Okay, I have to tell myself this one everyday, but the moral I’ve learned from it is that when things inevitably get tough or stressful, it is crucial to remember to take it one day at a time and just breathe. If you don’t do this, you are going to wind up in a situation where you do not have room to breathe and you feel like you are trapped in the abyss, don’t do that to yourself.

3. You are not as unattractive as you think you are.

Okay, self image is something I struggle with a lot right now. I love my body as is, even though I am still forever and always trying to better it by making fitness an important part of my life. However, I still think that I am ugly much of the time, likely because of my struggles with bad acne and also because of arguably the worst part of human nature: comparison. You have to remember that, as cliche as it is, beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder and outer beauty fades. It is your soul that matters and that is what people will remember you for. Chances are, your legacy would suck if it was just: “oh, they were easy on the eyes I guess”.

4. Stop trying to rush life, it already flies by so quickly.

This one kind of pertains to the second one, but I honestly cannot stress enough how important taking things one day at a time is.

5. You will make friends and keep them for the rest of your life, and it will not be as tough as you think.

Building rapport with new people in new environments throughout your life might seem frightening, but it will not be as scary as it is worth it.

6. You don’t need to have found “the one” by the end of college.

Statistics suggest this can happen for a lot of people naturally but trust me, just let things happen as/if they are going to and don’t be too focused on adding more work onto your plate, you’re busy enough.

7. You will figure yourself out, perhaps not immediately, but it will happen.

You are on this Earth for a reason, so worth or purpose is not a question. Just trust that you will find your way with a little exploration and dedication and you will.

8. That old saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer is not even close to accurate.

Cut your enemies out of your life because you don’t need that negativity on your shoulders anyway, or, better yet, don’t have any enemies to begin with. Your friends will likely always be the closest people in your life to you, so hold them close, enemies are pointless.

9. People are constantly going to try to impress upon you their own beliefs or how they think you should behave, don’t listen to them.

It’s up to you to assert your values and pick up on what you want to do and how you want to be. You are in control of you, don’t ever let anyone else be.

10. Transitioning from place to place in life can be terrifying, but it can also be the most incredible experience of your life.

After all, who wants to be stuck in the same place with the same surroundings all the time. This is a big part of why many people enjoy traveling.

11. Paying bills is awful.

Yeah, this one might sound like a given, and you can imagine that it probably sucks, but once you have to start paying them for yourself, you realize how terrible it actually is. And don’t even get me started on tuition fees or student loans and financing, or we will be here all day.

12. Take risks.

I can’t believe that it took my eighteen years to learn to be a go-getter and realize that you can do whatever you want to, guess it’s safe to say college makes a girl think, eh. (sorry I went from Minnesotan to Canadian for a minute there)

13. You feel better when you find your motivation to go do something productive.

So, if you are upset or having a rough day, get out of bed, get ready, and go workout, or practice whatever it is that your craft is.

14. Some people will choose to have a larger role in your life than others.

While some will omit you completely, and it’s probably for the best, some will opt to take the back-burner and some will make it impossibly clear that they care about you. As someone who is as insanely busy as I am, the one way that people can assure me that they are here for me and to support me, and want to be a part of my life, is contacting me. I cannot mediate 500 relationships on my own at one time.

15. Almost all things become easier with time.

You will get better at things that you care about or that make you nervous now when you commit to them as often as the opportunity arises. In this way, it is also important to push yourself as well as those you care about to succeed and to try new things to broaden their interests and perspectives. Nothing is ever really set in stone and just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you can’t try new things often, how else will you gain life experience?

16. There are no obstacles that are truly impossible to overcome, you can always discover a loophole or the inner strength to be able to climb that mountain.

This doesn’t mean you won’t fail, because you might, but this also doesn’t mean you won’t succeed. The glass is always full, half with water and half with air, it’s up to you to decide whether you float or drown.

17. You will feel lonely in a crowded room sometimes, but you are never truly alone.

Even when you feel most alone, there is always someone who will care about you.

18. The last and perhaps the most important life lesson I learned at eighteen is to be patient with myself.

Live life to the best of my abilities as myself, the only way I know how. There is no use pummeling myself to the ground or melting into a puddle over the bad moments in life because that is all they are, moments. And should my perception be more optimistic, though strenuous as that might sometimes appear, then the good moments will surely outweigh the bad.