17 Things You’ll End Up Learning In Your Early 20s

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1. People grow and achieve things at different rates. Comparing yourself to others, particularly career-wise, can sometimes end up being more toxic than ’03 Britney Spears.

2. Some people say life experiences are more important. Others say it’s all about putting in the hours. By this point you’ve realized that everyone is part right, but probably not completely.

3. If history is of any indication, none of us are as close to as smart as we currently think we are.

4. Burning bridges sometimes sounds like a really fun idea. But the outrageous fantasies are probably a lot more fun if we just keep them in our heads.

5. Negatively perceived companies aren’t “evil” — they’ve just figured out how to game the system for maximum profit, at the expense of everything else.

6. OK, maybe they’re evil.

7. People talk about “selling out.” Sometimes, you dream of being a position to do that. Other times, you hate yourself for being 24 and being content with owning a house with sunroom.

8. Some of your values are your neighbor’s values. Some aren’t. It’s important to acknowledge respect the differences.*

9. *Talking in vague cliches is a great way to write and/or talk yourself out of a jam.

10. People will have different music tastes than you. Thankfully they’re wrong.

11. It’s not so much about making money as it is knowing how to spend responsibly. Or at least I hope it is.

12. If you want people to pay attention to you, get to the point quickly. If you go any longer than two sentences, you’ll probably lose them. I think.

13. Pop culture references are sometimes awesome, but oftentimes douchier than Zachary Lodge.

14. The internet can only be taken so seriously. Be sure to keep this in mind as you read the rest of this list.

15. The old adage “you learn something new everyday” is as annoying as it is true.

16. Gaming the system may help you get into the room, but once you’re in the room you’ve gotta let your game speak.

17. When in doubt, just throw out some buzzwords.