Culture shock: That’s what you get when you have to fend for yourself for the first time. It’s a time to learn life lessons the hard way and (hopefully) retain what you have learned. You take the experiences you have been given and roll with what you have. You are not picky, and you go with the flow, taking punches left and right. It toughens you up and the punches hurt less and less because you’re getting better at dodging left and right. An undercut can still take you down, but what you’ve learned cushions the fall.

Over the last year or so I have compiled a list of things that I’ve cultivated. I tried to sum it all up, make it short and sweet. It’s 365 days of constant learning, of absorbing good and bad circumstances and good and bad people. It’s laughing and crying, sleeping all day and staying awake all night. It’s the things that you will never forget because this is your foundation that you are building, the cement and lower bricks that you are laying down. You clean everything up and make it neat. It frames your life. Take it seriously, it drives who you are and who you will be.

1. I've developed a mantra, you could say. "Everything always works out in the end."

No matter how bad life gets, the last thing is what will kill you, everything else is survivable.

2. Pick up and move on.

Don't dwell.

3. There's always someone rooting for you, even when you feel alone.

4. The people rooting for you are the people you should keep in your life forever.

5. People tend to be thrown into your life at the right moments, even if it feels like the wrong timing.

Trust it.

6. Take at least one thing from everyone you meet.

7. You don't just have to be friends with people like you.

Sometimes, your best friend can be the exact opposite of everything you are.

8. Sometimes even the people who are the exact opposite are the same in many ways. Look for those connections and build on them.

9. Friends come from anywhere and everywhere.

Make as many connections as you can, you never know when you might need a good friend.

10. It's OK to say no to people.

Even if it hurts their feelings a little.

11. Forgive and forget.

Grudges are a waste of energy.

12. It's OK to love Taylor Swift. A lot.

13. It's also OK to not go out every night.

Sometimes the best nights are the quiet ones in. Order a pizza and turn on Netflix.

14. Watching an entire season of "Gilmore Girls" in one day is acceptable.

Especially if you don’t change out of your pajamas.

15. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but sometimes the book reads just like the cover looks.

16. Enjoy silence.

It’s a rare gift.