I just turned 25 this month! So here are…
24 Things I Learned in 24 Years
1. Heartbreak feels like the end of the world, but it isn’t. Give yourself a few months and you will be just fine, I promise.
2. Time flies faster than you’ll realize. Find joy and happiness in the most mundane day-to-day events.
3. Don’t just date for marriage. You may or may not spend the rest of your life with this person, but just enjoy the moment and the way you feel right now.
4. Your twenties are just the beginning of your life. You don’t have to have much figured out yet.
5. Your standards aren’t too high. You are amazing and it is worth waiting for an amazing person that will be everything you have ever dreamed of. If you have certain requirements that you want your future partner to fulfill, make sure you never settle for any less.
6. The world is bigger than it feels. It’s easy to get lost in your mind and feel trapped. If you’re able to, travel as far as you can and see a different part of the world.
7. Whatever you’re worrying about right now probably won’t matter in a year from now. So don’t worry about it too much now.
8. Stop putting pressure on yourself saying “I need to do ____ while I’m still young”. You have your whole life to do anything you like. Every phase of your life is equally important; your twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties, seventies and if you’re lucky, your eighties. Stop putting pressure on yourself to overachieve at your age.
9. Don’t sleep with makeup on. Ever. Please.
10. Meeting your life partner takes some trial and error, and that’s okay. It may take a couple of heart breaks, but every heart break brings you one step closer to your forever person.
11. Be exactly the person you want to be. Write down every detail about your “ideal self”, like how you look, how your personality is, how you dress, how you live your day to day life. Then be this exact version of yourself that you want to be. Live like you are already this ideal person. Life is too short to be unhappy with yourself.
12. On good days you won’t understand why you’ve ever been sad. On bad days you’ll forget what it’s like to be happy. Bad and good days will keep happening in life, but that’s okay.
13. Always have high standards, but also always be the best person you can be. Guys deserve to be treated with love and respect and softness. Be everything for him that you want him to be for you. A relationship requires effort from both ends.
14. Prioritize prayers. Stop putting off praying five times a day and start today.
15. Always be gentle and kind to everyone around you. Always forgive. Always treat people with kindness so that you never have any bad moments that you will regret someday.
16. You are living your best life if you continue to make mistakes. It’s a part of the growth process.
17. Prioritize friends and family. They love you no matter what.
18. Money comes and goes. As soon as you have enough money to buy something you really want or travel to a place you really want to go to, do it!
19. Life goes by fast. Wake up early every day and enjoy the smaller slower things in life. Read a book, cook something, live at a slow pace if you like.
20. Life is too short to be around people that make you unhappy. Cut off the toxic boyfriend or the harmful friends. There are billions of people in this world, and you are bound to meet people better than the ones you’re cutting off.
21. Wear what you want. Trust me, you should feel happy in your outfits every day. Every outfit should be your favourite outfit.
22. Forgive others, not necessarily for them but for yourself. It will help you gain closure and not harbour feelings of remorse or anger. Forgiving and letting go will help you move on.
23. Find a balance when it comes to finances. Don’t spend money recklessly, but don’t be frugal. My best advice is to save 33% of every pay check, spend 33% for personal needs and allow yourself to spend 33% for fun stuff. You shouldn’t be too uptight with money since money comes and goes, but truthfully most of the fun things you want to do in life you will need money for. Also stop using your credit card once you don’t have enough money to pay it off. Interest builds up really fast.
24. Life is too short to not be happy. You don’t have to live your life the way you think you should live it. Some people’s idea of happiness is partying and spending time with friends. Some people are happier focusing on career or education. Some people like to stay home and watch movies with their siblings. Whatever your form of happiness is, do exactly that. Happiness looks different for everyone, and you deserve to live your life the way you want to.
