In October, I turned 22... It was a "glass half empty/glass half full" kind of birthday. Many people say that turning 21 is the most important birthday of your life for fairly obvious and favorable reasons. I'm going to agree and disagree at the same time. My 21st birthday was in fact a great birthday, but when I turned 22, I realized that everything throughout the journey of those years was far more important to celebrate. It was a maturing type of birthday. It was a birthday where I realized that I was actually in charge of my life. I realized that the celebration was not a party, but simply a glorious reflection on 22 great years and many, many landmarks. Here are 22 things that I've learned by the time I turned 22:
1. Family is by far the most valuable thing I have ever and ever will be a part of, regardless of distance - and for the record, your parents are right 99% of the time, trust me.
2."No" is one of the most powerful words in the world - it stands for confidence and honesty.
3. If you want something done the way you want it done, then do it yourself
4. The world outside of "home base" is far more majestic and intriguing then I ever imagined and has made me realize that exploring the world is extremely important for the soul.
5. Laundry can be done in many different ways, but mixing colors and not checking pockets to rush is not of the most valuable ways to do it.
6. Take pride and take care of everything you have, because if you neglect it, it will eventually come back to neglect you.
7. Wear clothes that you want to wear, not clothes that other people wear just to fit in - you will get real and natural interactions with others.
8. Find more than one hobby to do a couple times a week that have no relation to work or school as they help you find healthy and happy downtime.
9. There is a time and a place for everything, and not all times are that time and not all places are that place.
10. Making good grades is only a piece of the entire puzzle - communication, action, networking, self-building, experience, and exploring are some other notable pieces of the puzzle. Trust me.
11. Binge-anything is never good (binge drinking, binge eating, binge Netflix watching, binge gaming, binge studying, binge-etc.)
12. The "6 P's of Life": Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. (credit to dad for teaching me that early)
13. Find Someone or something greater than you worth following and learning from.
14. Social Networking is different from Social Media and knowing the difference can make all the difference.
15. Cheap is good most of the time, but not always the best option - including sushi.
16. "You are what you eat" is not just a saying, it is the cold hard truth - spending a day walking around like a box of cookie dough and greasy pizza is not what you want to be.
17. The great outdoors without technology is by far the world's best natural remedy.
18. As dad would say, (with anything in life) "Do it right the first time or you'll have to go back and do it again the second time."
19. If you go looking for trouble or answers, it may be the trouble or answers you expected.
20. "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."
21. The little things matter with everything.
22. Every day of every week in every month of every year is an open book... you write the story.