As my 25th birthday approaches along with one of the biggest adventures of my life, you could say I am quite the bundle of sunshine. And by sunshine I mean fiery ball of emotion. But more then anything I am excited and inspired. Inspired by how far I have come and excited for all that lies ahead of me. So between all my early mornings and sleepless nights I have done a lot of thinking. There is a lot I have learned, some things naturally and some were tough lessons. But nevertheless things that I want to share as my gift to all that view this, twenty-five things for each year I got to enjoy.
1. Don’t be afraid to fail, don’t be afraid to succeed either.
2. Move on and forgive quickly. Anything that doesn’t have a positive effect on you emotionally, physically or spiritually; let it go. Some people will commit to misunderstanding you, laugh it off.
3. Be nice to everyone you meet. Be even nicer to people that are mean to you.
4. Your body is your temple and you only get one, act like it. And drink water while you’re at it.
5. Learn to cook. And I don’t mean food that comes in a box or requires the microwave.
6. Save money. Unless of course you are buying a plane ticket.
7. Go outside as much as possible. Beach, woods, park, just go. Leave your phone, you don’t have to live your life by the number of likes you get.
8. Honor your parents or whoever raised you. They are not always here to please you but they brought you into this world and generally want what’s best for you. Note honor and love are different.
9. Encourage everyone you come in contact with. There are enough critics in the world.
10. Don’t chase money. Work your ass off, but don’t chase money.
11. Trust your intuition. It’s going to tell you things you don’t want to hear sometimes… listen and discern.
12. Don’t be a whore. Ladies and gents, seriously.
13. Sweat. There is an exercise for everyone and it’s cheaper than any psychologist.
14. Educate yourself. Read a book and learn something useful. Dumb is not cool.
15. Make it happen. Your passion, that thing that makes your eyes light up… what are you waiting for? Grind, hustle, do not be lazy. No excuses.
16. Be honest. Always, no excuses. Never ever lie even if your voice shakes with the truth.
17. Do everything with love. And fall in love with yourself too. Also, don’t be a wallflower go dance.
18. Give it away. Donate your old clothes, volunteer at a soup kitchen, give to a cause you love.
19. Make friends. But remember a loyal handful is plenty.
20. Be strong. There will be bad days, bad years even, there will be pain and heartache too. Toughen up. It won’t kill you, honestly.
21. Be thankful. Even if the only thing you can think of is the fact you woke up another morning, be thankful. If you wish you didn’t wake up… BE MORE THANKFUL.
22. Travel. Preferably with just a backpack.
23. Smile. Wear it like your armor, rain or shine. First world problems are no reason for lack of positivity.
24. Enjoy being single. You will get married and have kids… it doesn’t have to be now. I promise, ladies you won’t run out of eggs because your friends have a ring and five kids.
25. Pray. Build a relationship with God. I’m not here to shove it down your throat, but man you are missing out if you don’t.
There are a million more things I could say. And you might have already heard all of these. But you only get one chance at this life so pour positivity into it every opportunity you get and don’t take anything too seriously. I hope that this inspires some of you. And if not that’s ok too… I’m still smiling.
