Well hello to you my reader chums! I'm turning 26 this year and in my twenties, there are many lessons I've learnt, good and bad, and some things I wish I could tell my younger self so she could walk into the world with more confidence and assurance in herself and who she is.
If you're looking for some advice or on a journey of growth like me, here are 10 things I wish my younger self knew.
Being yourself is the most important thing
This cliche is something we're all told growing up by our parents and those older than us but I think most of us do dismiss it and don't believe in the phrase purely because we're brought up in a society that admires certain people and shuns the rest, so often we try to live up to these expectations and don't live authentically. What I've learnt in my twenties is the power of being yourself and how it can help you attract the right people, the right opportunities and feel a strong level of content inside.
Once we sway away from what we innately know about ourselves, it causes problems because we're all meant to be us for a reason. We all bring something to this earth and we all are unique to make the world a more diverse and better place. It'll be boring if everyone is the same as you won't be able to learn from other people and develop as humans. Being yourself helps you align with who you are and the life you're meant to lead and in the long run brings the most happiness.
Your body is the least interesting thing about you
I wish I could scream this at my teenage self. Growing up in an era of the thigh gap and skinny models everywhere, it was a very toxic world and still is thanks to diet culture. But I wish I knew then what I do now and that your body is the least interesting thing about you. What you look like doesn't matter, it's what's inside that counts. Your personality and who you are makes you beautiful in every way. And, societal norms are something most of us will never live up to but that doesn't mean you're any less of a human. We all deserve to love every inch of us, I just wish we lived in a society that didn't fixate so much on body image and what people look like because it really doesn't matter.
Eat what you want, wear what you want and be you.
The good friends will stick with you
I am very lucky to have a small circle of friends who I absolutely adore and know are there for me when I need them. I think when I was younger, I thought I'd have millions of friends going into adulthood but that's far from the truth and really it's not needed. Having friends who I know will speak well of me when I'm not there and having my back at all costs are the most important things. They won't walk away when times get hard, they'll stick through it with you. If they do walk away, then your friendship isn't as strong as you thought.
If they wanted to they would
This goes for relationships and friendships. If people wanted to make the effort with you, whether that's meeting up, talking to you or whatever, they would. We're all busy, and we all have things to do but it's what people prioritise is the most important thing. If their priorities aren't the same as yours, it may be the time to step back. This is something I've definitely learnt, especially in friendships. Once I give the same level of energy as people, then I feel more content in that bond, rather than trying to give all the effort.
People's opinions of you don't matter
I want to scream this one from the rooftops as it's still something I'm learning now. I think growing up, I spend way too long seeking validation and caring about what other people thought whereas, I should have spent it focusing on the one person's opinion that mattered: my own. It's important how you view yourself and your life, not everybody else.
You don't need to be friends with everyone
We all meet plenty of people in our lifetime and it doesn't mean they need to stick with you throughout your life. Friends come for a season, for a reason and sometimes for life and it's good to cement that mantra in your head so you're not upset when friendships fade.
Everyone else has no idea what they're doing
I think this is a point that many of us in our adult life need to hear as well as our younger selves. Most of the time, we're so fixated on everyone else's achievements we forget to look at our own and in turn feel like we're left behind or not doing as well. When really, nobody knows what they're doing, we're all bumbling through life together.
Failure is all part of life
Failure helps you learn and develop and is one of the most essential parts of life. When I was younger and failed, I always turned inwards and self hated, but those failures are what shaped me into the person I am today and have helped me grow in many ways.
You will get through this and come out the other side
We all have hard times and when you're experiencing those lows, it can almost feel like there's no escaping them. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you can get through it and will come out the other side. This too shall pass and things do get better. There's always rain before a rainbow as they say.
Things do get better with time
This leads me to this point and how time is the greatest healer. A pain I'd experienced a year ago feels so much less than it did at the moment and I wish my younger self knew that as she was strong enough to have more hope better things were coming.
Always trust your gut
Your gut is the one thing that knows what's right for you and I think when I was younger, I would sway away from it and listen to other people's opinions and views rather than my own. Your own opinion is the most important about your life.
I hope you enjoyed this post. Do you have anything to add?
Thank you for reading <3