Hello and welcome to the second installment of the "Turning 20 Extravaganza!" With two weeks left until I am officially 20 years old (and a marketing final right around the corner), I bring you 20 things I have learned in 20 years. Enjoy!
1. Being alone isn't all bad. Sometimes you need some space away from everything just to gather your thoughts, acknowledge them, deal with them, then clear them away. This is a process that is actually very important for people. I found that if it is not done on occasion or when absolutely needed, you might just have a mental breakdown. Be alone with your thoughts, then tell them the party is over when the time is right. Otherwise they leave you with a big mess to clean up.
2. While being alone is necessary, it shouldn't be a permanent way of life. As social creatures, humans are quite incapable of functioning properly without companions in life. I may have been a bit of a loner sometimes, but I found that life is alot more tolerable with friends and family around. Keep a circle around yourself, but you need to let some people in sometimes. You might find the answer you're looking for from someone else. You may even find someone with a similar spirit or soul to you. Those people bring you solace when you need it.
3. Think before you speak. This is a rule to live by. I have had some embarassing and awkward situations because I forgot that rule. When I say embarassing, I mean "I wish the earth would split and swallow me so I can get out of this situation" embarassing. Also, sometimes when you sit amongst adults for a bit, you forget the age gap and neglect to think before you speak. This could lead to very awkward moments with your older relatives.
4. Don't carry a watermelon when you're 9 and its too heavy for you. I tried that. Didn't end well for the watermelon, or my grandma's kitchen floor. Basically don't pretend you're strong when you really have the upper body strength of a toddler xD
5. Don't be in a hurry to fit in with the big kids. For one, they will not accept you that easily. It might happen when you're a high school senior or when you have started university. Besides, growing up isn't fun. Everyone wants to go back to being a kid. So just ignore the big kids and go play horsey like there's no tomorrow. (This applies if you're 10 years old or less and reading this.) If you're not 10, just act your age :p
6. Being popular isn't all that cool. Now we all wish we were social butterflies and that everyone wants to be our friend. We want to be wanted. Thing is, the popular kids have to deal with people wanting to be friends with thim for all the wrong reasons. Materialistic, shallow, and downright mean reasons. So I say being a wallflower is alot more interesting. Not always fun but definitely interesting. Like how you get to watch and observe those creatures we call "the cool kids" and see all the drama going on. Might as well grab some popcorn. The point is, just be yourself and the people you need as friends will come when the time is right.
7. Being smart is really important. I mean the kind of smart that will actually get you places, and not smart as in you memorized your mathbook. Sometimes you may be picked on for being smart and wanting to excel, but in the end it is your brain that will get you a job. Additionally, having intelligent conversations is so much fun. I would rather talk about the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes than about the latest episdoe of Keeping up with the Kardashians. Just don't let your brain give you a big head. No one likes a smartass.
8. Be nice. Believe me when I say I know how hard it is to be nice in this world of ours. But here's the thing. If being nice and kind doesn't get you anywhere in this world (which I doubt it won't), then it will get you to somewhere you never dreamed of in the next one, if God is willing. I put my faith in that fact, and I will never let go of my princple: Be kind always :)
9. Be nice, but not naive. If you're a good person, I applaud you. Just don't let people walk all over for you. Unfortunately my friends, there are many people who take advantage of other people's kindness. Too many. So be mindful of how you help others. Sometimes you help people by showing them the flaws that will doom them, so don't feel guilty if you end up revealing to a mean person what they actually are. You might have just saved them.
10. Don't go on a ride in Disney Land unless you know what it is. I have a fear of heights and all theme park rides that involve heights. I got into a crowded line for the Tower of Terror in Euro DIsney when I went on my school's senior trip. I did that because I tagged along with friends and had no idea just how much terror was in that tower. Basically I might have skipped a few heartbeats and was laughing histerically while crying after I got off. Please, check the details of a ride before getting on it :'D
11. If you can't handle a responsibility, don't accept it. I learned that when it came to pets. I don't regret having my dog, but I now know that if I were to get a dog, I would be the one and only one to take care of it. And that responsibility cannot clash with my responsibility towards my studies, my family, and myself. I will get another dog, of course, but when I don't have more pressing priorities that may cause me to neglect my dog. I cannot neglect a living creature, therefore it is more responsible to avoid having one if I can't take care of it.
12. Exercise on a regular basis is REALLY important. Too bad I had to learn this the hard way. Unfortunately, I am very unfit because I haven't taken the time to exercise at least 3 times a week. Stairs are my worst enemy xD That's why I will go to the gym and stay on a routine starting this mid year vacation.
13. Don't stop reading. Not only does reading help you better your language, increase your cultural knowledge, help you pass the time, and gives you great conversation topics, it also is alot of fun. Picture this: You have the ability to be transported into another world and live several lives. All with a little bunch of printed text and some imagination. Plus, the more you read, to more your imaginative capabilities grow. So when you start reading more advanced books, your mind can keep up. Its like watching a really long film with all the details.
14. Never, and I mean NEVER, wake up in a panic. It might lead to a mishap of choking, headbutting a wall, and quite possbile vomiting. Plus, a black eye and a swollen face are not cute. If you would like to see how I learned this, it was a short story on the blog ;)
15. Crushes are not a must. If you haven't had a crush on someone in school before, or ever, you are not weird. You are not emotionally guarded, or emotionless. You are normal, trust me. If someone tells you, "there's no way you don't like anyone, you have to like someone." then they're idiots. You don't have to feel a certain feeling. People don't work like that. Feelings associated with crushes come when they should, not when they have to.
16. If someone helps others in bullying, but then goes in secret and tells you that they're your friend, don't trust them. You can be sure that they have more faces than a pair of dice. I say this for you to avoid a really big disappointment. The moral you should know is, not everyone is your friend, and certainly not someone who partakes in making you feel like crap.
17. When you're teaching a little kid colors, don't start with dark purple. My mom had me teaching my little brother colors and numbers to get him ready for his school entry exam, and I wanted him to learn dark purple. Not red or blue. DARK PURPLE. He was crying at the end of the lesson, and for good reason. Imagine teaching astro physics to an elementary student xD
18. Don't blame a single family member for your parents' divorce. These things are not anyone's fault. Not even your parents. Blaming someone is just gonna cause the situation to be all the more painful. Especially don't blame yourself. Your parents' marriage was never your concern. It is the concern of the two members of that relationship and no one else's.
19. Join internships when you're in university. They are very benefitial in so many ways. You learn work ethics, more about the business you're interested before you decide to major in it, you learn how to work well with others, you learn what it means to be a subordinate, and you make lots of new friends (some even much older than you). These lessons will help you so much later on in life. This is called experience.
20. Not everything is what it seems. You look at some people and think you know exactly what is going on with their lives. You look at some corporate executive and think that he must be so happy and satisfied because he has everything. That person might just be miserable, for all sorts of reasons, mainly because all the money he makes can't buy him the intangible things everyone needs, like love and peace of mind. Or you look at a begger on the street and think that they must have the worst life because they have nothing. That begger may just be so much happier than you. Some beggers can have smiles on their faces because they have faith that God will help them when He sees fit and how He sees fit. So don't judge people by what they appear to be. When you know what they are, you'll learn that you actually have no right to judge.
So, I hope you guys enjoy knowing 20 things I've learned in 20 years. If you want to be told when I publish a post subscribe to my blog, in that box below on the right. Follow me on all my social media, located on the top right, if you want to know what goes on in my life and head besides this blog. Don't forget to leave any comments with whatever is on your mind in the comments section. You can also leave them on Ask Hue Mann's facebook page. Thank you all for reading, wish me luck on my next final, and I will see you next Thursday.
Hue Mann, over and out!! ;)
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