1.) Age is just a number! That has never felt more real than
it does now.
2.) Life will change you; let it! I never much liked change, but I have learned to embrace it, because it’s going to happen no matter what you try to do to prevent it. If someone had asked me when I turned 20 where I planned to be when I was 30, the answer would have been very different from where my life currently is. And I am more than ok with that!
3.) Throw the list away! All the checklists, the pictures you draw and plans you lay that you will just be devastated by if they don’t happen by such and such date, just chuck them. If you cling too tightly to them you don't allow yourself the space to just live.
4.) People are people; we all have hurts and hang-ups, so let’s all just cut each other some slack.
5.) People need people! As much as I enjoy time to myself- which I actually enjoy more and more the older I get- I have also become increasingly aware that we can’t make it through this life alone. We need people to lean on and we need to be a place that they can lean when needed.
2.) Life will change you; let it! I never much liked change, but I have learned to embrace it, because it’s going to happen no matter what you try to do to prevent it. If someone had asked me when I turned 20 where I planned to be when I was 30, the answer would have been very different from where my life currently is. And I am more than ok with that!
3.) Throw the list away! All the checklists, the pictures you draw and plans you lay that you will just be devastated by if they don’t happen by such and such date, just chuck them. If you cling too tightly to them you don't allow yourself the space to just live.
4.) People are people; we all have hurts and hang-ups, so let’s all just cut each other some slack.
5.) People need people! As much as I enjoy time to myself- which I actually enjoy more and more the older I get- I have also become increasingly aware that we can’t make it through this life alone. We need people to lean on and we need to be a place that they can lean when needed.
6.) Life is hard; don't take it too seriously or it will seriously take you!
7.) Just be kind! I think those three little words hold so much.
7.) Just be kind! I think those three little words hold so much.
8.) Relationships are work; but they are worth it. True
friendships, spouses, parent/ child, siblings… they all require a sacrifice of
self in some way, they mean being part of somebody else’s messy moments, but
they also mean sharing your mess in return. Having someone to help you carry
your heavy is so very, very worth it!
9.) Finding yourself will happen over and over again! The
person I am today is so different than the person I was even 5 years ago. It
don’t think it means I never knew who I was, I just think it means that
throughout a lifetime we can be so many different things. The things I will
experience between here and my 40s will probably mean the picture will be even
more changed by then. I’m ready for it!
10.) Give yourself grace! You’re only human, you will make
mistakes, forgive yourself!
11.) A smile has a way of catching! Share them freely!
12.) Find what you love and make time to do it as often as
you can!!
13.) Some things won’t ever make sense, so don’t even try to
understand them- it will just make you so much more confused!
14.) There will always be something that needs to be done,
it’s ok to leave time to shut-off for a while and just rest!
15.) You don’t owe anyone anything- yes, we should be kind;
yes, we should care for others. We should be giving and generous, but at the
end of the day you are only in charge of yourself, don’t let other peoples
choices define anything about who you are or take any ounce of happiness from
you.
16.) Hold the people you love close, you never know when it
might be the last time you see them.
17.) Forgiveness can sometimes be hard to give, but it’s
heavier to hold onto.
18.) A partner who gives you freedom to be yourself is
greater than gold!
19.) Marriage is no different than life, it has it’s hard
days and it’s easy ones; let the easy ones define who you are as a couple!
20.) Never stop dating! Plan things that you both love and
make time to do them. And, every so often, do something that only the other
person enjoys; their smile will make you love it too!
21.) Alone time is needed!! Take yourself on dates, just
you. Remind yourself why you LOVE being you!
22.) Don’t apologize for being who you are! There are going
to be people you just don’t mesh with and that’s ok, but don’t ever make
excuses for who you are because someone doesn’t agree with your choices. Simply
agree to disagree and move on.
23.) Don’t compare! With all the avenues of social media,
this has never been more true. You never know the struggles someone is facing
behind that glittering, perfectly-filtered door.
24.) Don’t judge someone on their down days; really just
don’t judge period! Give people the freedom to just be.
25.) The real world is better! I can be the absolute worst
with my phone, with scrolling Insta and FB, but making more of a point to put
the phone down always reminds me that looking up is so much more bright and
beautiful.
26.) There is so much of the world to explore! Try to enjoy
as much of it as you can!
27.) Love is a verb! Love is not that pitter-patter feeling
in your chest; that is the feeling you get when infatuation may have the chance
of turning into Love. Love is the commitment to wake up each morning and walk
alongside someone; it is remembering the things that will make the other person
happy and then doing them. Love falls hard into bed at the end of a long day
and still thinks to say, “I’m glad you’re the one by my side.”
28.) There is always hope!
29.) Look for the beauty around you- in the world, in
people. It’s always there; in the helping hands, in the sunshine after the rain,
sometimes even in the rain itself. The way we choose to see the world is what
it will become for us.
30.) Always remember how truly beautiful you are! You were
made specifically for this time right now, don’t forget that!
There is so much I could add to the list; 30 years is a lot of life and a whole lot of learning. But we will leave it there for now, who knows what the next decade will have in store...
How about you?
What has life taught you up to now?
