It's honestly commendable for me, for anyone, to be able to say that they've survived two full decades and one year of living.
Living these past twenty one years full of experiences, lessons, pitfalls and the occasional heartbreaks weren't all part of my initial plan but after a lot of deliberation, I've come to the conclusion that life is all about living while learning.
Here are 21 lessons I've learned in 21 years, and hopefully other young adult women are fortunate enough to have learned the same:
1. Sometimes your first love is the love of your life.
This isn't to say that everyone in a relationship is obligated to marry their first love, or their second or third or even their fourth. What I'm saying is this: sure it's okay to learn from one's first love because there are a multitude of things to learn from the first love but you can also learn these same things from the person you want to spend the rest of your life with and these things learned don't necessarily have to end in heartbreak.
2. A soulmate isn't just your boyfriend.
I'm a firm believer in the concept of having more than one soulmate in a lifetime. I'm also a firm believer in a soulmate not having to be a romantic prospect but in friendships, acquaintances and family.
3. A soulmate(s) is most definitely a best friend.
Alongside the person who you see building a future with, there's also the few people who you're lucky enough to have present with you while you're building this said future. If you're lucky enough to find that in a few of your nearest and dearest friends, consider yourself one of the lucky ones.
4. Fights only mean as much as you want them to.
Fights between friends are inevitable. When you bring two or more people together that are more similar to one another in more ways than one, little tiffs and spats are bound to happen. One of two things will happen then: you will either make up or go your separate ways and the choice of which route to go down is up to you and your pride.
5. $100 isn't a lot of money.
I can't even remember how and what I spent my $20 allowance on in high school and how I managed to make it last for an entire week and then some.
6. Bad things will happen.
Exactly how fights between friends and significant others will happen, unfortunate things will happen in your life and the most important thing to remember during these harder times is that it will pass.
7. You have to work under someone to have someone work for you.
I can't tell you just how many odd jobs I've worked in my life, let alone in the span of a few months. It's disheartening to have to go through the process of all these useless, odd jobs that give us all the pocket money we so desperately need but one day it'll all just be a distant memory that you look back on and are surprisingly grateful for.
8. Stand by what you believe in.
Whether or not it's your political views, economical views or just views about your favorite television show, stand by what you believe in because nothing is too minor when it comes to what's important to you.
9. Have a voice.
Take it from me, a person who's always shied away from talking about anything presidential related during the elections this past year, if you believe in something, voice it.
10. Managing finances is hard.
I never believed it before but it's truer now than ever. Just pay your credit card bills and your rent on time and buy that really cute bodysuit from Tobi when you have the extra funds to do so.
11. Never spread any rumors about anyone just because they did. Karma will do its job, trust that.
Just trust this.
12. Everyone will do exactly what they want to do in the end.
No matter how many hours of advice and long nights of pep talks you give them.
13. Once you turn 21, every year after that will come as quickly as the next one.
As depressing as it is, there's an upside to gaining new experiences year after year and learning from it all.
14. Never stop taking photos (no matter who judges you for it)!
Pictures are definitely worth a thousand words and they literally last a lifetime.
15. Being a senior on a college campus will make you feel a different kind of nostalgic feeling you never thought you'd feel.
These incoming freshman are just starting their lives here and we're just ending ours.
16. It's not to say that you hate going out.
But there are some nights you are perfectly content with staying in and going to bed at 10pm.
17. Whatever you're stressing about, the kid in the computer pod next to you is probably stressing about something else.
Everyone has their fair share of stressors- just because we can't see them physically doesn't mean they don't exist.
18. Fully trust any kind of energy or "aura" you feel.
Some people just have that bad energy and you have to trust your gut feeling about them.
19. Your gut feeling is never wrong.
See #18.
20. Things will eventually get better, in both short term and in long.
It's difficult to see it during the time but trust it.
