With a birthday around the corner, I find myself looking back at how I was when I entered college at the age of 19. I realized that although it doesn’t seem like much has changed over the years, I can slightly argue that that is simply not true. So much has changed for me like my confidence in myself, my motivations, my aspirations, my goals, and my morals.
As I’m approaching the age of 23, I’ve discoveredlessons in life that have helped me eliminate any negativity from my daily life and look at the positive side of things in any situation. Eventually you learn that sometimes people, or non-living objects, are just not worth a minute of your time. There’s so many things I’ve aged out of in the past couple of years.
Here’s a modest list of things I’ve learned at the age of 23:
Being jealous of other people
When you’re young, you tend be competitive with those around you. Whether that’s from sports or achieving higher grades, this builds a competitive trait in you, but I’ve learned that you don’t have to be the best at everything or feel envious when one is in the position you wish you were. Realistically, there’s always going to be someone better than you at something. However, you could use that as a way to motivate yourself and be happy for them. You’ll learn that there is no reason to be jealous of anyone else because everyone is on their own path.
Being Rude
I’ve learned to not let rude people’s energy effect my day. I felt like when I was younger, if someone was being mean to me, it would completely switch my mood for the day. Or I’d find myself being rude to other people because I was upset over someone else being rude to me. I’m starting to realize that if someone is rude, it’s a reflection of them, not a reflection of you, and you start to learn that you don’t need that energy in your life. There’s not enough time in the day to do most things, so don’t waste it sulking on those people. It’s better to kill them with kindness.
Toxic friends
Something I’ve seen common from most people around my age are toxic friends in friend groups. They are simply not happy for their friends because they are just jealous of their “friend”. There’s no need to be in any sort of toxic friendship at any point in your life. You should have friends that are going to cheer you on, as you would cheer them on. Surround yourself with people who are going to have a positive relationship with you, people who add positivity to your life instead of a friendship stressing you out.
drinking to make other people feel better
There’s a point in one’s life where you start to take control of your own actions. Unfortunately, drinking around people is where owning one’s actions can lead to some mistakes. Just know, you don’t always have to be the people pleaser. Don’t go out of your way to drink when you don’t feel like it. It’s okay to say no when you don’t feel like having company around and that should go for any scenario.
It takes a while to learn these lessons because it takes experiences to actually learn how life can really be. I’m sure as I get older, I’ll learn many more life lessons that I never would’ve given a second glance at, but that all comes down to who you surround yourself with and how you choose to live your life.