23 Things I’ve Learned my 23 Year
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Saying yes is scary. Like really really scary. Like I have to raise $18,700 in one year kind of scary then leave everyone I know and love to live in strange places and do a lot of things outside of my comfort zone. And then actually following through is usually scarier. Because then you have to tell people. What happens if it doesn’t work out? What happens if I can’t raise the money? What happens if you don’t get the job everyone knows you applied for?
What if what if what if.
But trust me, if you feel called, if you are excited about it, if any part of you knows you need to just go for it…then just go for it! Any and all of the scariness that comes with saying yes is far outweighed by the experience that your “yes” brought you. Even if the answer is no, even if it doesn’t work out, and even when it does. Stick with your yes’s. Don’t say no to yourself just because you are worried something else will.
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Document what you do…even if you hate it. Force yourself to sit down and quickly jot out favorite moments because those are milestones that shape you and that you’ll want to hold onto forever. I’ve honestly learned this the hard way. I hate writing things down, I hate journaling, and I hate taking photos and posting them.
But over the years I’ve had so many different opportunities. I’ve gone to Germany and have like 5 photos to prove it. I’ve worked on a wildlife rehabilitation center and can’t find where half of the photos I took went to. But on those trips, I was forced to keep a journal of what we did each day.
And because I hated every second of doing that (it was honestly the worst), and no one forced me to write things down while on the race, I basically wrote nothing down for the first 5 months. And already there are details that I’ve forgotten and memories I don’t remember. The other day I was re-reading through the journal I brought with me. And it’s crazy, there were raw and honest and hard journal entries that I DON’T EVEN REMEMBER WRITING. It hasn’t even been a year! And from going back over those entries, I can physically see how God has transformed and answered prayers and done so much in my life.
And okay, I still don’t write every day or even every week, but when something big happens, when you have big thoughts and big revelations, write them down! Take a photo of that cool place you went to! Your future self will thank you for it even if your present self may think it’s the worst.
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It’s okay to mess up. And it’s okay to look silly doing it. It’s okay to be bad at something that you enjoy and do it anyways. Be okay with laughing at yourself. It just adds so much more joy to your life.
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There’s no need for stress in life…ever. When you’re in the middle of a time where everything goes wrong and your miserable just think of it as though you’re just living a good story to tell later. Because honestly, those are usually the best ones. When you just can’t believe that (fill in the blank) happened to you that later it becomes extremely comical. So..why can’t it be comical in the moment? Why does it have to add stress to your life? Literally, what good will stress ever add to the situation? Because hear me out, there is a difference between being stressed and being aware. There is a difference between being stressed and understanding what may happen, and being ready for it. There is a difference between being stressed and experiencing normal physiological responses to simulations. There is a difference between being stressed and negative in the moment then laughing about it later and laughing about it in the moment and also laughing about it later. I don’t know about you but I’d rather take double the joy then only half. There’s a reason laughing helps your body and stress only hurts it.
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Just get out of bed. If you wake up earlier than planned, just get up. Make some coffee, watch the sunrise, have a little extra time with the Lord. It’s so much better than that extra bit of sleep you had planned. Be interruptible, even when it comes to beauty rest.
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Do your research. If you’re ever going to Central America, maybe learn a bit of Spanish beforehand. And maybe if you’re going to Thailand, learn how to say “Hello” and “Thank You”. Over the past 11 months, we’ve had hosts who have given us amazing cultural introductions, and then there’s been months we haven’t received any insight to the country at all. And honestly, it makes a lot of difference. It helps you understand the people around you better, to connect with them, and to love and honor them well while you are stepping into their home country.
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Don’t ever be too “modest” to receive a blessing. Receive what the Lord gives you and let others bless you. You know that phrase, “It’s a blessing to be a blessing”? We’ll it can’t really happen unless people are willing to receive. This is something I struggled with a LOT. I wanted to help others and not let it be the other way around. But most of the time, people are offering something because it will truly make them happy to give it. So let others bless you, then be a blessing to someone else in return. Don’t let the chain stop at your hands.
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I’m so thankful for hand towels. Seriously. You may laugh at this but I was without a hand towel for the first 10 months of the race. It’s such a simple luxury that I’ve realized actually means a lot to me and I’ll never take them for granted again.
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Children are capable of and are much stronger than you could ever imagine. GET TO KNOW THEM. Pick their brain and let them think their thoughts out loud. They have so much wisdom and insight to offer. If you struggle with having a child-like faith, talk to a child. This was a HUGE growing point for me over the last year. Before the race, I didn’t spend much time with kids at all. And then my first 5 months were solely kids ministry. In the Philippines, I noticed the strength and the joy kids are capable of. In Thailand, I saw their resilience. In Malaysia, I saw how special they are. In Lesotho, I lived on an orphanage and fell in love 33 times. I learned what it means to see people as children of God and how incredible it is that God loves us all as His children. Then in Swaziland, I learned that kids will be kids. Basically, I never used to give kids the credit that they deserve, and now I realize that they actually deserve a lot.
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You don’t need all the right equipment to have a lot of fun. We’ve had to make-do a lot this past year…especially when it comes to outdoor sports and activities. Nothing has been quite the same as it is at home. But in that, we learned that all you really need is a random group of people, a makeshift court/field, one ball, and you can have the best day.
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How to eat an entire apple. What you do is start by eating the very bottom, and then you just work your way up! At the end, all you’re left with is a stem and optionally some seeds! (sometimes I don’t even notice I’m eating the seeds and other times they taste really bitter to me. I think it depends on the type of apple.)
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Be present. Take time to really look at what’s around you. To see the world and realize where you’re standing, what your life means, and what you’re living it for. Every once in a while, take a minute to just stand outside and really soak it all in. Even if it’s just your backyard. Look around you and truly see it. You’ll gain some serious perspective.
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How to check for and comb out lice. However, I’m still extremely confused about their life-cycle. I lived with teammates that had lice for more than half of the race and (thankfully) never got it myself…but I was kind of the poster child for getting lice. I keep my hair clean and washed everyday, I never used tea tree oil, I don’t wear my hair up a lot or with a headband. I literally laid next to one teammate so many times before realizing she had lice BAD and I still never got it. And then we would spend weeks and hours combing out the lice and picking out the nits and eggs until their heads would be clean for weeks…until somehow they weren’t anymore. It’s not a fun business, but also creates great team bonding at the same time.
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Always do the things. Sometimes you really don’t want to get up and do the thing. But you should really just get up and do the thing. Because that’s when you meet new friends, and make memories with old friends, and laugh, and talk deep, and explore, and see the world, and get out of your own little bubble. This saying is old but true..in ten years, you won’t remember the day you stayed in, but you’ll remember the days you went out and did the things.
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The importance of rest. Okay, with #14 being said, don’t run yourself out. You need you time to recoup and regenerate. You need time to sit and process with the Lord all that’s happened in a week. Maybe that’s when you utilize #2 and write it all down. Or maybe you just need time to lay on the couch and watch a movie or read a good book in a day or get work done around the house or listen to new podcasts or that new album on Spotify. Literally whatever it means to you in that moment. Don’t run always on half empty. Don’t rely on 5 cups of coffee each day. Don’t be afraid to say no to going out when you know you really need to stay in. Just…don’t overdo the rest.
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How to pop popcorn on the stove-top. It’s actually so easy and tastes so much better.
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The value of being reliable. When you agree to do something, don’t back out last minute. Be someone whose yes isn’t questioned. Be dependable in the words that come out of your mouth. And yes, use discernment. Sometimes things come up, or new information is reveled that changes the situation. But for the most part, I’ve learned the value of being someone who is true to their words.
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It’s important to honor time well. This goes for yours and others. Don’t be consistently late, because that’s not honoring to the people’s time who is waiting on you. Don’t say yes to something and only be half invested because again, that’s not honoring to the one you said yes to. Fill up your schedule with what matters to you. Don’t do yourself the dishonor of spending time in places you don’t want to be. Prioritize what you want to get done each day, give yourself free time, let yourself hang out with friends, say yes to the things that excite you, and then say no to the things you want to say no to. You don’t have to do it all.
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Which belongings actually matter. And as it turns out for me, not a whole lot. After being away for an entire year it’s funny what belongings i’m excited to go home to (and the things I actually remember). Sure, I’ll remember that one blanket, that one journal, that one sweatshirt. But 90% of my wardrobe and belongings I just don’t remember. I’ll look at photos and I’ve forgotten almost every article of clothing waiting for me back at home. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to throw everything I own away and keep living with only the things that will fit into one backpack. Buuuut, I am excited to go home and declutter my life. And I’m excited to keep the perspective that clothes are only clothes.
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How to surf. And I say this one loosely. I learned how to glamorously fall down 9 times out of 10. But for every time I stood up and rode the wave to shore, it made all the bumps and bruises and being dragged under water worth it.
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Don’t be afraid to own what you know how to do. Even if you just slightly know how to do whatever it may be. Let people in on what you’ve learned over the years and let them celebrate that in you! Think of how fun and exciting is it to find out hidden talents in the people you love…so don’t let yours stay hidden!
- How to hand wash my clothes. When there’s no washing machine available for months at a time, you learn how to get creative.
- How to budget and buy a week’s worth of food with only $35. While there would be some months my team would collectively give our food budget to our hosts and they would cook for us, there were also some months where we were just given $5 for each day and directions to the nearest grocery store.
Bonus!
24. Traveling doesn’t have to be hard. If there’s anything I’ve learned this year it’s that you can travel well, have fun for cheap, and find your way around even when you don’t know any bit of the language. Traveling the world honestly seemed like this big thing to me, where you had to be really knowledgeable and logistically skilled in before the race. But that was such a misconception on my part. As it turns out, if you make a mistake, oh well. Just learn from it for next time.
And part of this freedom in traveling comes with giving up control. Maybe you won’t be able to plan everything out to a T. Maybe you can’t buy bus tickets until the morning of at the station so you have no idea when you’ll actually arrive at your next destination. But that’s what makes it exciting and fun!
Traveling became easier when my idea of what it should be became less. Just let life happen, do your research, pick and choose between cheap and costly depending on what is important to you. Because honestly, just because something costs more doesn’t means it’s the better deal. Really figure out what YOU want. Most of my favorite adventure days costed less than $10 for the entire day.
Life Update: I just arrived back home in AMERICA. For the first time in 11 months, I’ve been able hug my sister and flush the toilet paper. So you can say it’s been a pretty good day. Although I am back home now, there is still so much that the Lord did through my squad while we were in Ecuador. I plan on making a video to share the story because it is one worth sharing! But, I also am really excited to be home and be present with family and friends for a while. (shout-out to anyone that wants to get together, I’m free after Labor Day!) So, this is not an official goodbye to this blogging platform quite yet, but it may be a little while.
