Things I Learned in 26 Years

I used to think that 25 was going to be THE AGE. I’d have my own house, a car, and maybe even be retired because that’s what some random blogger I read at 20 said she did. I thought 5 years was a very long time, that I would be able to do a lot of things. But the truth about turning 25 is… you still feel like you’re 24. Or 23. Or 22.

And now, here I am at 26, too old for Leonardo Davinci, yet somehow still not feeling old at all. I still have so much to learn, so many things to experience. I thought by this age I’d be my highest self, but it turns out that version of me might still be years away.

So, for now, let me just share some of the things I’ve learned so far from my 26 years of living on this spinning planet. Everything on the list is worth keeping, especially the ones at the very end.

– Not wanting something is as good as having it

– Being humble and self sabotaging is not the same!

– If you can’t be happy by yourself you have nothing

– Know your worth and go where you’re valued

– Love yourself. If you don’t love yourself you put up with abusive partners

– Don’t be afraid to lose something small. Let go and something bigger will come

– Never justify a shitty person’s behavior. Take people as they are or at face value

– Your happiness depends solely on you and not from other people.

– Reading books helps in developing empathy

– Be interested not interesting

– Comparison is the thief of joy.

– Let yourself be misunderstood. Let people believe what they want to believe

– Silence is powerful

– Not everything is personal. The world doesn’t really revolve around you

– Negativity is poison

– Romanticize your life cause magic exists where you choose to find it

– Keep taking pictures. Record everything.

– Always think long term or be intentional

– When you’re overthinking don’t think why. Ask yourself how

– Its not about what happened to you its how you choose to deal with it

– You get more peace when you see the temporary nature of things and accept it. Let it.

– Too much self awareness can sometimes be harmful. Especially when you have to overthink and over analyze everything that you do. Your reaction doesn’t always need to have a reason or an explanation. It just leads to you to look for faults within yourself or questioning yourself if you’re normal. Being normal doesn’t mean a perfect childhood, a perfect personality and a perfect mind. Yes the past has an effect on the present but the good thing is you can choose what to do and how to react now.

– If you don’t like what you’re becoming around other people be more aware of yourself. You can’t always just avoid people or cut off people every time it gets inconvenient

– Absence doesn’t make the heart go fonder. Its just some form of manipulation

– People pleasing make people stay. But its unfair to yourself. Set boundaries. You don’t owe anything to anyone.

– If he can’t plan a date how can you expect him to plan the future

– Invest in people who invest in you

– Accept what people give, let people help you and practice gratitude.

– Building a family is a commitment to love someone. Its not just about raising children

– Being a lover or soft girl feels good

– Listen to understand

– Be cringe and happy

– Don’t be scared of liking something that most people don’t. Talk about what you love more and keep quiet about what you don’t except in the moments that truly matter.

– Routines makes you feel in control

– Work smarter not harder in every part of life

– You can definitely fake it till you become it. Intentionally act like the person you want to become

– Do something you love with something you don’t like. Temptation bundle

– Don’t wait to do things. Do it now and be extreme before you lose your enthusiasm.

– Sex appeal is not the naked body but its the possibility

– Your job doesn’t care about you so don’t stress too much about it

– Using social media to seek validation is the worst way to use social media

– There’s a big difference in enjoying your youth and destroying your future

– Karma is real

– If you force yourself to forget the bad things, you become forgetful

– When making a decision ask why you should not choose it instead of why you should and you’ll be able to make a decision quick through that.

– Don’t let yourself stay in a position where you suffer just because of fear of what comes after being happy

– Enjoy life and have fun. Life is short.. so stay away from people that make your life here on earth worse

– The difficult days won’t consume your entire existence