25 Life Lessons I’ve Learned in 25 Years

Oh. My. Goodness.

Today I turned 25, which means that I’m about 9,125 days old – and I’m deeply grateful for every single of them, both bad and good. Here are 25 things that I’ve learned so far:

[Note: These ‘lessons’ are not organised by importance and I’ve left them without further clarification as I find some of them to be fairly open-ended; with a pinch of ambiguousness so that everyone can relate or adopt them in their own way.]

1. Health is wealth.
2. Take time to respond, don’t react immediately.
3. Say “no” more often.
4. It’s never too late to change your mind.
5. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
6. Carry a book at all times. [Thanks, mom. Thanks, Kindle.]
7. If you worry, you suffer twice.
8. It’s OK not to be OK.
9. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.
10. Never stop learning.
11. Perfection is overrated. Strive for a better version of yourself.
12. Create. Even if it stinks. Keep creating.
13. Friends over boyfriends. Always.
14. Count your blessings. Once you start, you’ll keep finding more.
15. Tell people you love them. Praise them, thank them, compliment them.
16. Remember to crack a joke even at the darkest times. Make it a slightly inappropriate one.
17. The cure for anything is salty water: sweat, tears or the sea.
18. Red wine works equally well, though.
19. Know how to spend time on your own but do not forget how much you enjoy others’ company. [This goes out to all fellow introverts.]
20. Network in unconventional ways.
21. Be more generous.
22. Life without challenges would be boring. Say “challenge accepted” as often as you can.
23. Bad dates make hilarious stories.
24. The only way out is through.
25. When you are content with yourself, everyone will respect you.

Older (and maybe wiser),

F.