Reflecting on this past year of being 19 in my last hour and on my last day of being in my teenage years, here are 19 things that I have learned at 19:
- I push people away when they get too close and that’s not okay.
- There are some things you can share with others and other things that you have to do alone.
- It’s perfectly OK to ask for help.
- Stay present but plan for the future anyways.
- Be as honest as you can but not at the detriment of your friends.
- You should apologize when you hurt people but you shouldn’t apologize for being yourself.
- It’s okay to get hurt and being hurt a lot doesn’t make you weak or unloveable.
- You don’t have to be in a relationship to know what a good or bad relationship looks like and you don’t have to date to prove that you can give good advice.
- Having lots of relationships doesn’t mean that you’re good at relationships, the people who are good at relationships are the people who have only had one or a few. That goes for friendships too.
- You don’t need to be tamed. Anyone who says otherwise shouldn’t be in your life.
- You can be lonely but you are never truly alone.
- Being ambitious and being loved are not mutually exclusive.
- There is life after high school. The teen life in movies and tv shows is not realistic and you don’t have to follow that mold.
- Each year is a life well lived and getting older is not something to dread.
- Base your plans on you and not on others and be willing to change those plans to fit what is best for you.
- There are experiences you enjoy and others you just have to tolerate.
- For every good quality or experience you don’t have there are many others that you do have.
- Having depression, anxiety, and autism doesn’t mean you are broken, and it doesn’t mean you are unpleasant or odd. Keeping it all inside will never help you.
- Be that bitch.
