I turned 23 this year, which is a scary thought. It only feels like yesterday that I was sat in my rundown university house drinking jagerbombs with friends celebrating my 20th birthday. It’s almost like I blinked and I’d finished high school, college, graduated from university and moved out from home. Now that I’m approaching the midpoint of my twenties...it’s safe to say my teen years are far behind me.
Your teens are the period in your life where you learn the most about yourself. I’m not saying that I’m all knowing, wise or anything like that as I still have so much to learn. However, I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve learnt growing up so far and hopefully give a little insight of what you can expect from your twenties.
1.
Don’t worry too much about the future and think about the now. It took me a while to realise where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do with my life after university, but don’t let this fear consume you. Focus on what it is you enjoy doing and go from there.
2.
Learn from bad experiences. It’s ok to make mistakes when you’re younger. It’s kind of what being young is all about. It’s how you learn what you do and don’t want out of life.
3.
There isn’t enough time in the world to waste on negative people. Surround yourself with positivity, with others that make you the best version of yourself.
4.
Friends are important as they keep you grounded. Make sure you stay in touch, but know that it’s ok if you can’t. Unfortunately as you get older you can grow apart from people...it’s just part of life.
5.
Find a space that’s yours where you can live and relax. Life can be quite stressful at times and it’s important to have somewhere where you can unwind.
6.
Embrace every moment. Time really can fly by, especially when you're older and work full-time. The weeks can start to blend into one. So make sure you don’t waste a single second of it! At the rate my teens went it won’t be long before I hit 30….but let's not think about that.
7.
Remember that it is never too late to change. You’re young and part of that time is spent learning who you are as a person and what you want to get out of life. If something hasn’t gone as planned there is plenty of time to change it.
8.
Explore and try new things. When you’re young and your still finding your feet and have fewer responsibilities it’s the perfect time to get out there and see the world. Visit somewhere you’ve never been before, try something you’ve never done. Younger years are all about discovery.
9.
Don’t take yourself too seriously. Try and have a more positive outlook on life and smile more. You’ll feel so much better because of it. A negative mindset can be your own worst enemy.
10.
Get out there and meet new people. You will make plenty of friends, have plenty of relationships, but the more people you meet the more likely it is you’ll find that someone that you really click with.
11.
Aim for success and know what you want to acheive, but know that it is ok not to get there right away. Nothing can become perfect overnight.
12.
Be fearless when things seem daunting or scary. There are so many big changes in your life at this age; like moving from home or starting a new job. Just try to not overthink things and take it one step at a time.
13.
Take care of yourself and eat well. When I first moved out from home I wanted to eat everything that my parents never let me. However, the novelty kind of weared off and it just made me feel worse afterwards. Stay fit and healthy and you’ll feel better because of it.
14.
Coffee is life. Seriously, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been hungover or barely slept and coffee if the only thing that has kept me going.
15.
Learn to be good with money. It’s so tempting when you get your first proper paycheque to buy all the things you ever wanted, but learning to save and budget your money is an important skill to succeed in life.
16.
There’s so much more to learn about the world after education. School is great, but it doesn’t teach you what to do once you leave. There are still so many life lessons to learn.
17.
You’ll grow to like things you never did before. I never used to like gin and tonic or kale, but now I can’t get enough of them. I’m not quite there with olives yet though.
18.
Self confidence comes with experience. As you grow older, you learn more about yourself as a person and your confidence will begin to shine through.
19.
You never really feel like an adult. Although I’ve grown older and more aware of the world I’m still the same person. A lot of the responsibilities that adults have; like paying bills, maintaining a career and being independent, don’t always come instinctively and can take a lot of hardwork and time. I sometimes feel like a child playing dress up, trying to wing adult life.
20.
Growing up isn’t easy and it’s perfectly normal to have doubts and be unsure of what it is you want to do with your life. Just make sure you ask plenty of questions and find out all you need to know to help you get to where you want to be.
  |
  |
0 comments