6 Realizations Everyone Must Experience When Turning 20
By Effy Keith
I don’t know about you but for me, growing up was like trying to find your way through a pitch black hallway without any light source. It was a constant flurry of questions, queries and doubts inside my head. Being an only girl in a family of six, with my mom always being at work and my dad always being drunk, figuring out where things were supposed to be was not a piece of cake. Only now, as I near my twenties, am I unraveling marvelous truths about being an upright person.
1. Getting black-out drunk won’t make you happy.
Don’t be deceived by the phony Hollywood movies where all the teens seem happy and content with just drinking and passing out from too much alcohol. IT’S ALL A LIE. Oh sure it’ll get you through those first semesters in college, sure it’ll gain you a ton of new acquaintances, but it’s not going to make you happy. It’s just fun, not happiness.
2. Trying is key.
Trying leads to something better. Trying makes you better as a person. Trying is always a step forward to something you want to achieve. Trying is empowering.
3. Be in 3 places at once; the past, the present, and the future.
Past experiences offer you a lot of information. Past mistakes, past lessons, past successes, past love, all of the pasts you can think of. You sould always keep it in mind. It’s like giving yourself advice.
Living in the now is as important as remembering your past. Live your life now, be present, be here.
The future is something you fantasize about. It’s what keeps you aspiring. You have to keep one hand in the future to push yourself into achieving the reality you envision.
But be warned, too much of something can distort your sought after clear view in life.
4. Moms are the best.
Do I really need to explain this?
5. Love yourself, the rest will follow.
Seriously, I cannot stress this enough. Most teens don’t even know how to fucking love themselves anymore. I know I’m not the best person to go to for self loving (not masturbation). It took me the whole span of my teenage years to even learn how to love myself. But I eventually did, at least I’m learning more how to. I could see little by little that everything was getting better. It was slow, but it going.
6. Stop your rebellion and grow up.
Whatever form of rebellion it is that you do, just drop it. Cutting, drinking, breaking rules, it’s not helping others and it most certainly not helping you. It’s time to grow up and be brave.