20 Things I've Learned Before Turning 20

Holy cow....I’m soon exiting the teenage dream and now entering the world of twenties!! (:) Not like age really makes a difference but idk...19 still seems young and innocent. 20 seems adult-like and weird. Clearly overthinking this age thing..i’m going to read this 20 years from now and be like “ya dumbfart. I wish i was 20...I’M FRIGGEN 40!!!” LOL

I’m constantly reminiscing the past to all the good and bad memories, and although they’re all sentimental and emotional, I’ve definitely gained a lot of experience, knowledge, and life lessons from it all that has made me the person i am today

So here are 20 things I’ve learned so far before turning 20 XDD 

1.   Age is just a number. It doesn’t define who i am. I feel like every year, I'm always like "UGHH I'M GETTING OLDDD" (<--i don't think i will ever stop saying that on my bday tbh), but my age doesn't make me any different.
   I’m going to learn and grow at my own pace and be myself. I don't want to act like "every 20 year old" because I feel like it will restrict me from becoming my true self.
   

   

   
   
2. There is no such thing as reaching the highest potential you can be as a human being.  Every year, I feel like I am a better version of myself than the year before and that I hit my peak of who I am as a person. I’ve learned that the more I learn and experience new things, the more I will change and strive to be a better person.
3. I’ve learned to accept and adapt to change. I don’t like change because i don’t like to readapt. But if we get too comfortable, then life gets boring and easy. Change is a restart and can lead to the better.
   
4. There’s not a manual for everything. Sometimes, you have to make your own judgement/ decision on what to do and what is wrong or right. I like things like math (sorta..not really eh), sewing/embroidering, driving, because there are steps to get to the result. But in real life, there’s no clear and exact answer on what to do. We just have to make sure whatever our intentions are, they're good and right ones. :) I've learned to do this because in healthcare, it's all about making quick and smart decisions and that there are many many ways to do things.
5. The value of money and that living in America is friggen expensive. I’m actually grateful that i have a minimum wage job because it really taught me the value of money and how hard people have to work for it. 
6. Appreciate the things I have. I realized I’m very fortunate to have all the things I already have in my life already. I started writing 1 thing i’m grateful in my journal when i feel like writing in it lol, and it makes me feel lucky of the things i have and have the ability to physically do. I think it makes me feel more grounded and humble
   

   
7. Step into the person’s shoes before judging or making assumptions about that person YEP. learned that from To Kill A Mockingbird. LOL. Actually, this was why I considered being a psychologist because I’m very good at understanding where people are coming from and their intentions based off their perspective, personality, and background history.. Clearly, i’m also very observant lol.
8. I’ve learned leadership skills. I was always usually the one who let others tell me what to do, but ever since I started working, I’ve definitely learned how to be more of a leader and a team player…..i guess video games can help you with important life stuffffs afterall. 
9. Let go of the people who aren’t there for you anymore. I always pictured my close friend groups to be in my life forever. Even when we started to drift apart, I still thought about my future with them because i didn’t want to move on (..told you..I don’t like change). But i’ve come to realize that there’s no point in trying to plan your future with people who don’t show equal support and love for each other. You can’t grow old with everyone. 
   

   

   
   
10. The best people in life are freeeeee. :) Lol, this is sorta the same thing as the last bullet but MIEH. I only need a few close friends and family in my life to keep me happy and wooble and i'm grateful for all of them. :) *I would put a group pic here, but I don't want to leave anyone out..but you know who you are XD*
11. I've learned to take care of myself. SELF CARE IS IMPORTANT YOO. I try to have a "spa night" once a week where I do face masks, moisturize, and overall just take care of my skin. I also like to treat myself and buy things I've been eyeing on for awhile that bring me joy because I feel like I deserve it sometimes after long days of work or studying. XDD
    
    
12. Time is weird mannn. Clearly i like to remember the past in different aspects because i’ve mentioned it several times already. Looking back in the past and comparing it to the present shows how much has changed in that time span and man….either so much has happened within that time, people change, lives change. ...I mean obviously..but idk it just shocks me sometimes. That's why I'm so happy that we created this blog because all of our fun and crazy memories bring outs out who we are and documents our growth, and different layers of ourselves. :)
    

    

    
    
13. Dwelling on the past is like opening a healed wound. My mind keeps going back to the past to when I was stupid and dumb and there’s no point in doing that because I know I’m a better and smarter person now.
14. Plan ahead, but if things don’t go as planned, it’s okay. I’ve been bulletjournaling these past few months and making short-term and long term goals for myself…(lol my new goal is to retire at 45-50 LOL) but we never know what’s going to happen or a certain factor that will change everything. 
    
15. Quality over quantity. My mom lives by this and has been enforcing it on me since forever. But I’ve also been the frugal type that wants more more more for less money or time. I now get that a little more time or money will result in a better and higher quality outcome in a more efficient way. Also better quality stuff makes me happy :) 
16. Ignorance is not bliss. I learned this in my philosophy class actually...and i’m pretty sure i’ve mentioned it in the blog already. I’ve been living in a nice civilized town almost all my life and it wasn’t till i went to college and met different people and learned things from a different perspective, that i realized that i’ve been blinded by the reality of what’s going on in this world. I learned so much about global issues, the environment, injustice..and i’m really trying to not be ignorant about these things. I think this is pretty relevant to what’s going on with the black lives matter movement and yemen and everything else and i hope that more people are educating themselves on it. It’s impossible to not be ignorant, but it’s important to educate ourselves on the important stuff..and man i feel like i’m rewriting my whole philosophy essay LOL. whoops. 
17.  Going vegetarian isn’t that hard. I'm a vegetarian but I try to eat vegan as much as possible. It's not that hard for me..but maybe that's because i have the passion for it. I actually learned a lot more recipes as a vegetarian and definitely gotten creative with it. Sooo...changing my diet has actually made me cook more :O 
18. People are complex and have so many different layers. It’s so interesting getting to know people, their stories, values, beliefs, lifestyle. It makes them so interesting and diverse and i love learning about people.
    
    19. No matter how old we are, we are the same person as we were when we were children, just more developed. I keep finding traits of myself, my interests, my thoughts to be the same as when I was younger. I guess some parts of you never change even when you think they had. 20. You are what you love. LOL, I was listening to "Daylight" by Taylor Swift (clearly.....) But i realized this is so true. I was actually going to include something similiar on here, but I didn't like the way I phrased it..but ya know..taylor is so good with words lol. so i'm putting it back in lol. The things we are passionate about seem to be what defines us. I'm super passionate in trying to save the environment and making animals and human lives fair and happy, healthy foods, taylor swift, cute things. All of my interests make up who I am as a person..and tie in with my last bullet of how we are all complex human beanss.
    
    
    While reflecting and thinking of some of the things I've learned , I also realized that I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about who I am and my strength and weaknesses...I guess it only took me 20 years to find myself right? loligrsf JK, I think we're going to be constantly learning about ourselves and life, and that's part of growing. :)