25 For My Next Quarter

All throughout my high school and collegiate experience, I would always joke that if I could just stop aging at 25 I would be content. It seemed like the perfect age. As my 25^th birthday nears in less than a month, I find myself questioning whether 25 is all I built it up to be. I think I have less fear about aging (although I still apply organic or natural facial creams religiously), but my attention has slowly turned to how I want to live the next decades of my life. Traveling and living abroad has given me plenty of time to reflect on where I’ve been and how I want to proceed forward. Learning to live and living to learn have taught me some valuable lessons that seemingly impact my life every day.

Genuinely learn one to two facts about the people you meet. Anyone who has ever run across the name Dale Carnegie knows the concept of remembering a person’s name. It is indeed the sweetest sound to that person. Beyond that, a name is only the surface. Delving deeper into the vastness of the people you meet not only helps you connect on more meaningful levels, but it also provides insight into the life being lived around you. And you never know when someone’s life thread will somehow intertwine into yours.
Buy quality products. You only get one of you. Buy the things that are exactly what you need. Why go through unnecessary “bargains” when you could have had the real deal in the first place. Satisfaction is better than any “deal.”
Downsize what you use. As lesson no. 2 points out, quality matters, but so does limits. You don’t need a billion products. If you’re buying quality to do the job the first time, then you don’t need all those other repeats.
Surround yourself with what you want to achieve. Sounds a bit like a motivational poster. Yet, it’s absolutely true. Whatever goal you set for yourself or which every hobby strikes your fancy, immerse yourself into its world. You’ll pick up a lot more than sitting at a distance.
If you don’t like it, don’t stick with it. Try it, evaluate it, and then act. There’s no harm in trying something, but you don’t have to carry on if it just doesn’t work. This lesson has applied in so many areas of my life, even with activities and people that used to mean everything. We are dynamic: be open to moving when necessary.
Being emotional doesn’t make you weak, it makes you authentic. Wholeheartedly embrace your emotions. On days when you feel happy, run wild. On days when the world is one tear drop away from the flood, float with it. Emotions aren’t indicators of weakness; they are glimpses of a life fully experienced. Never pass up a chance to experience life.
The type of energy you give is the type of energy you receive. Energy makes up the fabric of our existence. As we interact within the context of this globe, we transmit energy back out to it. As science has taught us that energy is never destroyed, send out the type of energy you want to receive. The world has enough natural negativity; it doesn’t need enhancing.
Reading and writing are the staples of expression. In your closet of skills, everyone needs to have these two basics. No matter who you are, where you roam, or the cards that you’ve been dealt, reading and writing are the foundation of expression. Leaning how to understand other’s moments of expression and being able to effectively share your own allow for greater harmony.
Cooking pasta in salt water revolutionizes the taste. Seriously. Pasta is a dish that you can make on your last few dollars. Learn to cook it right. Plus, you don’t need to add more salt later. Budget, taste, and health all checked off!
Pictures are worth a thousand words, but they don’t replace them. While I love photography and can spend hours examining photographs, nothing plays on the soul like the sound of words lingering in the air.
Don’t allow yourself the option of being bored. Bored signals that it’s time to add a new dimension to your life. Which new avenue will you be exploring?
Dump assumptions and let the experience take you where it will. We all have assumptions. Consciously break-up with a few of them and see where you end up.
Life isn’t a path; it’s a globe. Embrace it.
Cherish your past, seize your present, and craft your future.
Be at peace with yourself, so that you may be at home no matter your coordinates. You are all you need to survive wrapped up in a beautiful package. Be at peace and you will never find yourself without a home.
Give a cup of tea of chance. Coffee gets all the cred.
You’ll make enough enemies in life, don’t be your own.
Don’t just learn to say ‘yes’ more, but also reserve your right to say ‘no.’
Granny sweaters have stuck around for a reason. Because no matter how ugly it gets outside, a large oversized frumpy sweater will hug you every time.
The art of cooking has not been lost and it is so much better. Sure fast food is fast and restaurants do the dishes, but cooking gives you time to think and to savor.
Let go. A clenched fist or a closed heart leaves you nothing beyond barely hanging on.
Get a good amount of sleep. It fixes EVERYTHING. I mean seriously, does this even need to be a lesson? It may as well just be mandatory!
Wanderlust isn’t a trending fashion. It’s a modern word for the natural curiosity we have always been born with.
I have purpose simply because I seek to live.
Most importantly always remember: There will always be someone better than you and someone less fortunate than you. So always be content with who you are, but never stop striving to achieve more.