Twenty-five Life Lessons to
Learn Before You're 25
1. Learn to cease seeking
approval from your parents.
2. Now that you’ve learned that, unlearn
everything you have been taught to know about yourself. Discover
and define who you are on your own terms.
3. Run away just once in your life. Seriously,
just drop everything. You don’t have to go away for good,
you can always make it a quickie getaway trip the next town over,
but go where absolutely no one knows who you are, no matter how
uncomfortable that makes you feel. Book a train, bus, or plane
ticket to somewhere and don’t look back. Do things you
would never do. Talk to people at a coffee shop when you normally
would never approach them first. But why make a mess out of your
perfectly good routine, you ask?
4. I understood myself only after I destroyed
myself, and only in the process of fixing myself did I know who I
really am.
5. Stop being scared to look like an idiot.
Chances are you already look like it trying not to look like it,
so you might as well do justice to the task at hand and give it
your all.
6. Never get into anything
half-a.ssed, especially relationships. If it feels
like you’re the only one emotionally invested in a
friendship where the other person is “too busy” to
hang out with you UNTIL they’ve got a problem, light the
match and burn that bridge.
7. It is necessary to cut people out of your
life and never look back. Friends, best friends, family, or
parents. Let go of people who no longer contribute to your
growth. I mean it! If your father has been walking all over you,
walk away. Because if not now, when?
8. When you do let go of anyone or anything, let
go gracefully.
9. Like scrolling past a stupid Facebook post or
petty meme about your favorite TV character instead of writing a
raging litany about it in the comment section. Practice the art
of scrolling past irrelevant noise.
10. It’s not cool to hate things and
constantly talk about it – it’s boring and
exhausting. It’s okay to like the color pink; it’s
okay to like Spice Girls; it’s okay to dress hipster;
it’s okay to like using Facebook. No, she’s not a ho
for often wanting to go clubbing. No, he’s not a
f.aggot for not wanting to get p.issed drunk.
Annoyed that some girl puts quotes as captions for her selfies?
Get over it.
11. You are a reflection of the type of media
you choose to consume.
12. People will always find something to dislike
and sometimes that will be you, and that’s fine because
they are them and you are you. Don’t let anyone’s
opinion of you dictate how you feel because people’s
perception are always limited to what they see and hear. You know
yourself and that is enough. If it isn’t, change that.
13. Just because you disagree with someone else
does not mean you have to fight about it.
14. People always find out the truth, always.
Think twice before you spill your guts in the heat of the moment
like how annoyed you are at your workmate to a person you think
you trust.
15. Actually, practice not saying anything bad
about anyone. Sure, eventually getting irked at someone is
normal. But as much as possible, if you don’t have
something nice to say, better to zip it than regret it because
you’ll either be hurting someone or (eventually end up)
hurting yourself. Practice distancing yourself from negativity,
especially if it’s coming out of your own mouth, and try to
see how many days you can go without gossiping or backstabbing.
See what that does for you.
16. I am more powerful (and
hot) than everyone who has hurt me. We are only as hurt
as we allow ourselves to be.
17. Self-confidence is good and is much better
than self-loathing. Don’t stress about being mocked
“overly confident” as long as you know where you
stand. The label “over-confident” sometimes exists in
the eyes of people who lack any.
18. RESPECT other people’s
“No.”
19. If someone cheats on you or f.ucks you over, dump
his/her a.ss.
Cut the “But I love them!” BS. Stop putting up with
other people’s s.hit. You’ve got enough of your own to
deal with.
20. Open your mind and realize you are but a
tiny microscopic blip in the universe. Do not let this frighten
or discourage you, let it humble you. Travel and experience as
much as you can. Most especially, experience the humans around
you. Be aware of everything and everyone – the environment
you are surrounded by and even the wars and civil conflicts in
SEVERAL countries hundreds of miles away from your own.
21. For the love of Jesus Christ, realize
romantic love is not the only form of love and that being in a
relationship does not ever equate to happiness.
22. Cut your hair, get a tattoo, experiment with
whatever make-up you want. Be ugly. When your heart loses your
fear of looking ugly, it has more space to love yourself. (If
someone is rude enough to make you feel crap about your haircut
like “You look more beautiful with long hair! I liked you
better then.” then reply with “Then grow your own
damn hair, John.”)
23. Realize self-respect comes from yourSELF.
You could be a stripper, or have had 50 one night stands, or eat
the jellybean that fell on the floor, and still respect yourself.
Do whatever you want, dude. Do you.
24. You shouldn’t have to convince someone
to want you so stop trying. Find someone who knows what they want
is you.
25. People will either like you or they
won’t, and that’s okay. Learn to like yourself
instead.