14 Things I Wish I Knew in My 20s
Your 20s is about setting yourself up for the kind of life you want to live.
1. Feel comfortable with who you are
2. Be prepared to make changes, but also know you’ll make mistakes. Without mistakes you will not learn and grow. Not feeling comfortable means you are changing and growing. Maturing, that’s the word.
This photo was taken in Queenstown, New Zealand at a teapot bar. They fill teapots with cocktails that make you dizzy. I must have been a little tipsy in that photo, but I was definitely happy. I’m taking a selfie with Annika and Shannon. They were 2 pretty cool gals on my Contiki trip.
“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will.”
– Epictetus
I feel like a creative kid with really nice hand writing wrote this. It’s all true. I honestly couldn’t agree more.
Faith
When most people think of faith, they think of religion,
Faith is powerful, for it comes from within,
An inner peace that is found, above all the commotion,
The self is powerful, it versus the ego,
When expectations rule your thoughts, when dark clouds circle above,
You know you can count on faith, to turn it all around.
I’ve accepted that I’m going through a lot with life in general. There’s being stuck in a degree you see no future in, there’s parental resentment, there’s the want to be a rebel without a cause, there’s a want to be beautiful, but deep inside, I just want to be me. Sometimes in life, you just have to stick it out because one day, all your hard work will pay off. As they say, “there’s light at the end of the tunnel.” It’s waiting for you, but first you must tackle some of life’s obstacles. Sometimes, in the dark. It’s hard when you’re longing for guidance, support and reinforcement that you’re on the right track. We’re all human, and sometimes we go through a few lows on this roller coaster called life. What gets us through is knowing that, you won’t always be on that low on that roller coaster ride. For it will go high and above, and make you feel butterflies (the good type) when you finally reach that high. There’s work to be done, D. Just get through it. Push through because you know you’re better than what people think. Inside you know you’ve got this. Find that faith. It’s there.
“And hard times are good in their own way, too. Because the only way you can achieve true happiness is if you experience true sadness as well. It’s all about light and shade. Balance.” ― Gabrielle Williams, Beatle Meets Destiny
“Difficult times will come.” It’s a fact of life, isn’t it? There are good times and bad times in everybody’s life.”
― Raj Kosaraju
Katy Perry
Happiness comes in small forms. I like this video because it’s very me. Those things in life that reflect who you truly are inside, will give you the greatest joys in life because for a moment in your life, you don’t have to try so hard at being happy.
Resentment
I hate my mother. There I said it. I hate the way she speaks to me. She makes me feel like a failure. Then there’s my dad, he’s stuck in his own negative thinking and behaviour. The two of them are balls of fire. I know I can only take them in small doses, and while I know that right now is not the time to move out, I know that this too will pass. I can’t let my emotions get the best of me because I’m better than that. I’m too free-spirited and cheerful. When I’m around them, I feel like I have to hide my true self – you know the one I really like. Someone who has so much positivity, happiness and good will. It is a sad feeling to think that the ones who are meant to love you the most, are the ones who make you feel the worst. Things won’t always be this way, and one day I’ll make something of myself.
Everything has its place in time.
I feel happy when…
I feel happiest when I’m not on placement, when I have my hair down, when I’m feeling real good about myself, and when I give my body, mind and soul time to rest. To just be present in the moment. To cherish what I have now – what’s right in front of me.
You know along my 22 year journey called life-at-this-point, I’ve gotten to know myself a little better each year. Yes, I’m an emotional person. Emotions. I experience them at a more heightened level than everyone. My emotional being makes me vulnerable, but at the same time it allows me to connect with people on a personal level with ease. And so I have a way with people. According to Oprah, feelings are the “GPS system for life. Even doubt means don’t. This is what I’ve learned.”
I’ve been on clinical placement for Nursing the last couple of weeks and today I was buddied up with a Registered Nurse who was still relatively young – in her 20s. She was quite stern, yet she was thorough and I learnt a lot from her. I could tell she was Filipino. We must have had a similar upbringing, one full of family, working hard and high expectations. She was to try on her wedding dress that afternoon after work. Sometimes I would pick up on things she would say, and I’d be like I’d say something along those lines too. However, now that I’m at home, a part of me wonders whether than stern side to her was inherent. My gut tells me Nursing has changed her. “You need to be assertive in Nursing” they tell me. “Otherwise, people will walk all over you in this industry.” I ask myself whether I really do want to be a part of a culture full of bullying and bitchiness. Even the best wards, have some underlying demeaning tone. Each experience in life is a lesson, and I guess Nursing is teaching me so much.
Life never goes to plan exactly the way you want it to. We all go through the highs and lows of life, and when you’re experiencing a low, the important thing is to first acknowledge your mindset, your situation, assess the controllable vs the uncontrollable things in your life, then draw up a plan on where you want to be a year from now and how you are going to change for the better. I.e. Sad to happy again. I know my writing isn’t as great nor inspiring as how it used to be (my second blog was a fashion and beauty blog). But I will tell you this, I’m getting there.
Who am I?
– Final Year Nursing student
– 22-years-old
– Big dreamer
– Assertive by nature
– Gets out the aggression and frustration through taekwondo
– Dances to get the tension out and feel like a woman (and work on my unco-ness)
– Is in awe of the fashion world
Why I’m doing this?
To bounce back. To pick up the pieces. To redefine myself. To challenge myself. To discover new things about myself. To create a map of my journey to happiness. To create the person I want to be.
270 Days of Happy 