Sometimes it's hard to believe that I am actually 21 but other times it feels like the time had dragged on forever and ever. In 21 years I have had a lot of experiences, some that are the best memories I will ever have and others are the times I look back on and wish I could change. But here is a short list of things that 21 years on this Earth has taught me.

Don't be afraid to go after everything you want. Whether this be those cute shoes you keep telling yourself you don't need or actually talking to that guy in your science class. Life is too short to not go after things you really want. Yeah, I get that you may be afraid of whats going to happen but you can not always live in the fear of the consequences.

HAVE FUN... let this mean what you want but seriously do something fun at least once a week. Life is much too short to live such a serious life all the time. Get out and do some fun things with friends, family or a significant other. Just get out and live life to the fullest.

Good friends come and go but BEST friends are hard to come by. This is something I have learned over the last year or so. Friends can be wonderful and great but then when you realize that some people just aren't who you think they are then it becomes a different world. Luckily over the last year I have realized that some friends I had, aren't who I thought they were but I have found my true best friends and I couldn't be more thankful for who they are.

Take time for yourself. This is something that, until recently, I didn't fully understand the importance of those words. But over the last year I have learned that taking some time whether it be daily or weekly just have "me time" doing something that you enjoy is so crucial to both your mental and physical health. If you don't believe me just try it for a couple weeks and see if it doesn't make you feel a lot better.

Get some exercise. This is something I am still working on and trying my best to keep a routine so my best advice is to work towards a goal, get out in the gym and get started.

Relationships.. woah this is something I never thought I would be giving advice on but the best thing I can tell you is to never settle, go out and meet tons of people and the person that you are meant to be with will find you. Don't think you are too old, or have a goal to settle down by a certain age because thats something you don't have that kind of control over. Give it time and it will all happen the way it's supposed to.

Never, ever take your parents for granted. Remember even if you think it's not that cool to spend a night in with your parents or you think you are too busy, they want you to spend time with them. I'm not saying to spend every night in with them but do take some time throughout your life to spend with them. Get to know them as more than your parents, get to know them as your friends too. Because these are the people who have made everything possible for you, without them you wouldn't even be here to be living the cool, busy life you are living. Just remember they won't be here forever so take some time to spend with them.

So I guess you can either say that I have learned a lot from 21 years of life or I still have a long way to go. I can agree with both of those statements and that's ok, I get that 21 years isn't a long time but also it is a while to be living on this crazy planet. So I hope someone can take something away from this article. Good luck in this crazy thing we call life.