“1.) Authenticity is a beautiful thing 2.) If you’re stuck on writing lyrics or poetry, look to your diary. (See number 1) 3.) Sunscreen is so important. You’re in the same skin forever. Wear it every day if you can, especially in the summer. 4.) Try new foods. If you don’t like it, so what? Spit it into your napkin. If you do like it, you have a new favorite food. 5.) Learn how to get in tune with your body. When it says something is wrong, listen to it, no matter what people say. 6.) Vent– to your diary, your parents, your friends, your pet, a teacher, a stranger, the sky, God. Get it off of your chest. 7.) Get to know your inner child. Color, feed them chocolate, swing with them on swings, watch their favorite movie. They’re inside, and they need love. 8.) Be open to all souls, regardless of what they look like on the outside. You may know this idea as “don’t judge a book by its cover.” 9.) Save up your money once you start working. Someday you may total your car and need to dip into that $3,000 you have in the bank. It’s not much, but it’ll make things a little easier. 10.) Learn to recognize constellations in the night sky. You’ll impress family, friends, and lovers, and you might even surprise yourself. 11.) Sometimes you can’t decide what’s scarier– your past or your future. That’s when you get better at living in the moment. 12.) Twelve hours, just twelve hours not devoted to someone else, twelve hours all to yourself, can do wonders for the soul, mind, and body. 13.) If you don’t know how to do something (put air in your tires, French braid hair, download music onto your phone), YouTube a video of it, or Google it. Be your own teacher. You can find a lot on the internet. 14.) There is a difference between mature love and immature love. Some people never find the former. Keep working to at least get close to it. 15.) Oh, and don’t be so afraid of falling in love. You don’t have to devote your heart to a human that will break it in the end, that’s not what it’s about. Fall in love with the world around you. Fall in love with yourself. It won’t seem so scary when you start to slip. 16.) When you feel an emotion that is too strong for you to process at the moment, go for a walk. 17.) Don’t let your fear become greater than your passion. 18.) Trust me when I say that when you begin eating better, you’ll start to feel better, inside and out. 19.) A clean room will make your life feel so much more organized than a messy room. 20.) Say a string of positive affirmations to yourself every single day: “I am the only power in my world. I have a loving, happy, and fearless heart, and I am safe.””
— I turn 20 tomorrow and decided to share some wisdom I’ve acquired over these past two decades (via atticaliveshere)
