Well 22, it’s been real. Seriously one of the best years of my life! With that being said, here are 23 things I learned in my 23 years of life.

 

1.)  You teach people the way you want to be treated.  So if you keep letting Becky steal your pens, she’s going to continue doing it. In fact, Becky will probably stop worrying about having a pen on her, altogether. She’ll just rely on you and all of your expensive trips to Staples. My point is, tell Becky to get her own damn pen.

 

2.)  If you have to force it, it’s not worth it. Trust me, I’m the QUEEN of beating a dead horse. When I want something to work, I will give it all I got. Even if that person lives in another Country, flirts with other girls on Instagram, and never bothers getting me a Valentine. Once my heart is invested, it’s hard for me to face the truth. (Name that song.) Don’t make my mistakes.

 

3.)  Sometimes things should be left unsaid. 

 

4.)  If they aren’t acting like a friend, they aren’t. Yep, took me almost 23 years to learn that if someone isn’t treating you well, they shouldn’t be in your life. Surround yourself with people who have your best interest at heart. And cats. Lots of cats.

 

5.)  Sometimes breaking up isn’t a bad thing. Hell, it may motivate you to reach out to your dream job one more time. And you may just get it. Basically what I’m saying is thank you for dumping me in Canada, because now I’m “living my best life” as Rachel Lindsay would say, except when she said it, she was definitely lying because we all know Peter was hand sculpted by God himself and Bryan is every guy you dated in High School.

 

6.)  Drink more water. Or wine. Wine definitely works too.

 

7.)  Haters gonn’ hate. So stop worrying about what will make other people happy. It is IMPOSSIBLE to make everyone happy. Do what feels right for you. What I’m really trying to say is I don’t like Game of Thrones, okay? I’m sorry. I tried, but there are more characters in the show than people in my own life.  

 

8.)  Steer clear of musicians, comedians, actors, DJs, and models. So, pretty much if you live in LA, stay single forever.

 

9.)  No one is that busy. If someone is always too busy to hang out with you, it’s because they don’t want to.  Don’t be offended, just spend your time with better people. Or cats.

 

10.) Things may feel like they’re never going to change, but they will. I’ve definitely had my slumps. But that’s all they are, slumps.

 

11.) The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If it’s for your career, persistence is key. If it’s for love, refer back to lesson #2.

 

12.)   If you’re feeling bad about your life, watch a Dr. Phil clip on YouTube. Or like 500 of them.

 

13.) Embrace every aspect of yourself.  For instance, my anxiety. Sure, it makes me cry on every flight I go on and over think every text I receive, but I started a pretty fun Blog from all my overanalyzing and obsessin, right?

 

14.) Your feelings are valid. I know it sounds obvious, but it actually took me quite sometime to realize that I should listen to myself when I’m upset about something. And those who try to invalidate your feelings aren’t your true friends.

 

15.) Be kind. Except when you’re driving, then you can be a total asshole.

 

16.)  It’s okay to do things by yourself! Sometimes you have to. Welcome to adulthood.

 

17.) Not everyone is going to like you. Now, I don’t know if I’m telling you guys that or if I’m actually just telling myself, because I’m still working on accepting this. I like to be liked, OKAY?!

 

18.) Open your damn mail.

 

19.)  Albert Einstein was onto something when he defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

 

20.)  Pay attention to red flags! If he’s, oh I don’t know, going through a divorce and living in his car…maybe don’t date him! Maybe run away while you still can. Don’t overlook these warnings! It’ll help you out in the long run.

 

21.)  If you want to be a morning person, just go to bed earlier. And form an unhealthy dependency on coffee.

 

22.)  It would probably be a good idea to actually use that gym membership you pay $25 a month for. You know, so you're not just spending $300 a year on a plastic "LA FITNESS" key chain. Maybe if you go more often, you'll even befriend one of those people who go on "jogs for fun" and believe in "runner's high." 

 

23.) You're going to make mistakes. And that's okay! When I was 17, I had a crush on this guy who worked at a froyo place. I really wanted to ask him out but was too nervous, so I had my friend slip him my number. Shortly after doing this, I lost my phone. So, naturally, I went back and had a different friend give him my number again. Yes, I gave this guy my number twice to make sure I didn't miss his text. Turns out he had a girlfriend and thought I had a staring problem. My point being, we live and we learn. 

 

Sincerely,

 

Renee