As a twenty year old young woman, I can say that I have definitely learned a few lessons. However, I have this crazy feeling that I’m going to be learning lessons for my entire life. Life is all about lessons; actually, life as a whole is a lesson. Right now, I can share the top ten most important lessons that I have learned in my life thus far.

1. Not everyone is supposed to be in your life forever.

I unfortunately learned this lesson the hard way. After losing my best friend of eight years as well as my first group of college friends, I learned that some people are going to leave your life… maybe it’s for the best.

2 . Falling in love for the first time is the weirdest, most wild experience ever.

It really does hit you all at once, and I hate to say that sometimes it really does suck. However, it’s also an amazing and freeing experience that makes you change.

3. You can’t just give up when things in your life get tough.

I unfortunately learned this one the hard way as well. I really let my life go downhill last year because I wasn’t happy. I felt stuck and I felt as though nothing was ever going to change. When your life gets tough, you must keep pushing forward.

4. You’re in control of your own life.

I used to just let a lot of people walk all over me and I thought I was just being nice. I then realized that I was being taken advantage of, and I had to take control of the situation. I had to take my life back.

5. Caring about what other people think of you is a waste of your time.

Who cares if people judge you. If you’re happy then it doesn’t matter what other people are thinking.

6. Feeling lost in college is (apparently) completely normal.

As a junior, I have had to start thinking about my future and I honestly feel completely lost and I have absolutely no idea what I am going to do or where I want to go. I’m slowly learning to embrace that feeling because I don’t think anyone else really knows exactly how to plan out the future.

7. If you mess up, you have to take responsibility.

You can’t just blame other people for your problems. You’re in charge and you have to take responsibility for your own problems. At the end of the day, you’re still going to have those problems unless you fix them yourself.

8. Letting go of the past only propels you forward.

I’m definitely still working on this one, but I know that if I can let go of my past, then I will be a lot happier moving forward. I have (almost) fully let go and I can truly say that I feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders.

9. Working hard really does pay off in the end.

You have to work hard to get what you want. Things aren’t going to be handed to you on a silver platter. You have to be proactive and work as hard as you possibly can in order to achieve your goals.

10. Life is supposed to be fun, so don’t be too serious all the time.

It’s okay to let loose and just go out and have a good time. Life is supposed to be enjoyable and spending all your time stressed out over school or drama is just going to ruin that experience.