Recently, I celebrated my twenty-fifth birthday, and coincidentally, my first birthday in the states in three years. It was weird to say the least, realizing all that had happened in the last three hundred and sixty-five days. My twenty-fourth year was jam packed: living abroad, visiting home, traveling around the island of Taiwan, my first Chinese New Year, moving home, and so much more in between all of the aforementioned.
Sometimes I have to remind myself that literally just months ago, I was walking into work at HESS about to go teach a class of first graders. Time escapes us before we even realize it.
Nonetheless, I have come to learn a lot in the weeks leading up to my move home, after my move home, and even now. I find myself learning and relearning things everyday. Sometimes it’s silly stuff like how to use Apple Pay or how to release the parking brake in my car (which yes, actually happened a few times). My mental push-ups have paid off, because I can tell you that I am a heck of a lot more confident than I used to be a few months ago.
I thought it to be appropriate to start a new tradition on my blog, to be carried out for years to come: life tips. Some of them silly, some of them serious. Either way, these are just a few of the things I have learned so far.
- Ask for what you want or you’ll never get it.
- Travel because it will change your life in more ways than you think.
- Time is the most precious currency, so don’t waste it.
- Never go to the airport without weighing your luggage beforehand.
- Multi-tasking is fine. Just not when you’re driving.
- When all else fails, put on your favorite song or go exercise.
- Fear is only present when we acknowledge it.
- Get comfortable being uncomfortable, or you’ll spend your life in the passenger seat and you’ll have many, many regrets.
- Never “try” to do something because you’ll never do it.
- Avoid people and things that drain you of your energy.
- Surround yourself with people who challenge you and expect more of you than you do of yourself.
- Don’t trust everything you read on the internet. Especially if someone like JoeTheJock47 wrote a three page post about it on Reddit.
- If you’re doing what everyone else is doing, you’re going to get what everyone else is getting.
- Have a plan, but also have a plan B, C, and a plan D. And don’t freak out if none of those plans happen as you imagine them to.
- Treat others as you want to be treated, but don’t expect everyone to follow the same rule.
- Stop being a people pleaser and do things that make you happy.
- Never stop dreaming. The day you do is the day you settle for mediocrity.
- Hustle now, so you can play later.
- To live a life that is extraordinary, you must do extraordinary things.
- If you don’t have a few haters, you aren’t doing it right.
- Learn something new everyday, even if it is something silly.
- Transparency is always best.
- There is no prince charming. Be your own knight in shining armor and slay each and every day.
- Never say something in public that you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying in private.
- Lastly, no one has their sh*t completely together. We are all figuring it out one day at a time, so let’s be each other’s cheerleaders and help each other out where we can.
Until next time!
