20 Things I’ll Tell My 20 Year Old Daughter

1. Find your passion, and stick to it. Even when you feel like it’s time to give it up- I still wish to this day I didn’t give up acting school at 15 to pursue the art of kissing boys. 

2. Don’t push yourself in creative arts, unless you want to become a socially anxious insomniac.

3. You will not be any happier 5 kilos lighter, if anything you will be really really sad that you can’t eat that piece of cake.

4. Realise there is a difference between being in love, and being in love with the idea of love.

5. Don’t let one person become who you live for- especially if it’s a romantic partner. You will find out your great friendships will be worth 26 romantic relationships.

6. Studying hard is not the be all and end all. Don’t let society and school trick you into believing you must study for your career *unless you want to be a teacher, but remember all teachers are insane.

7. Don’t over analyse what others say. Actions really are worth 1000 words.

8. You are not defined by your job title, relationship status or stereotype. You are your experiences.

9. Travel.

10. Never assume, always ask questions even if you feel uncomfortable.

11. Write your feelings down, especially if you feel overwhelmed- it all makes sense on paper.

12. You can come to me with any of your problems and I promise to never judge- all I ask is that you do the same for others.

13. Be grateful for at least one thing every morning- you’ll be surprised how much this can set you up to have a beautiful day.

14. Hold on to people that bring you love & joy, and once these people no longer do, know it is okay to let go.

15. Remember that life is temporary- one day you will be gone so use this time wisely.

16. Money should be used for freedom- try to enjoy a healthy relationship with it.

17. Only at the lowest of lows, then are you worthy of the highest of highs.

18. Don’t feel like you are waiting for life to happen, your life is the journey, not the destination.

19. Your instinct is always correct- learn how to abide by it, even when you don’t particularly want to.

20. And most importantly, even when you can’t understand how or why- Life always goes on…