10 Things I’d Tell Myself In My 20’s
I’m having a funeral to my 20’s this month. I can’t believe that I’m going to be 30 on Sunday! (February 13!!!)
In my 20’s I’ve:
Graduated from a community college and a university
Moved out on my own
Moved to a different town where I knew only 1 person
Owned a car
Moved to the metro
Married my best friend
Moved into a house
Obviously I’ve done more but these are pretty major!
There have been times where I wish I would have told myself in my 20’s many things to do different or what to remember…
Here are 10 things that I would have told myself in my 20’s…
1) It’s okay if people don’t like you. I’ve taken many personality tests and of course they all have came back telling me that I’m a people pleaser. 100%. Sometimes it’s a good thing, other times it’s really not. I tend to care what people think about me. But don’t worry, I’m getting better at it. But in my past, I always cared if people didn’t like me, I wanted people to like me. I was a people pleaser. But it’s honestly okay if people don’t like me. Who cares. I’m not living my life for those people. There are other people in my life that absolutely love me and care about me. I am who I am. I’m living for one person, Jesus.
2) Do schedule doctor’s appointments. I was always afraid to go to the doctor. Stepping on the scale (UGH), blood work, telling me the same thing over and over again. Yes, I know, I know. But going to your doctor’s appointments are so important. If I never scheduled anything I wouldn’t have known that I was a diabetic, HAD high blood pressure, ended up with gout, PCOS, etc…When my body starts to feel off and I don’t feel like myself, I schedule a doctor’s appointment. Always have an established doctor and one who makes you feel comfortable. I don’t know how many times I tell myself that over and over again!
3) Keep your body active. No matter how sluggish, tired, blaming my period, my schedule, or I could be doing better things with my time, KEEP YOUR BODY ACTIVE. Whether that’s going outside for 20-30 minutes and enjoying the weather, walking around the block, walking around the house, doing an at home exercise, yoga, going to the gym…who cares, keep your body active. I’ve learned that I needed and still need to do this often because if I don’t…my feet and ankles swell, I don’t sleep well at night and my feet become agitated.
4) Eat foods that are good for you. I’ve always found myself (and we all have) going for the potato chips instead of the veggie tray at family gatherings, get-togethers with friends and even at home. Make healthy(er) choices, because I found out that it caught up to me and it impacted my future for certain things. That’s when I decided to change my lifestyle. Didn’t go on a diet…but changed.
5) Call your parents and spend time with them. This one really hit the spot. I’ve talked to my sister about this plenty of times. Before my dad passed away, one of the things that I wished that I did more was call him and spend more time with him. We all get like that when a loved one has passed away. But at times it just eats at me and I wish I did that more often. To this day, I still wish I called my mom more. Can I? Absolutely! (sorry, mom, that I don’t call you as much as I should) But, if I get an opportunity to go see my mom, I will. This also applies to siblings. You betcha that I’m going to take advantage of opportunities to go see my family!
6) Do research when it comes to apartments, houses, cars, credit cards, saving money, etc. I wish there was a course when I was in high school where they taught you this stuff like taking out loans, what to look for when you’re going to go look for a house, buying a car, moving into apartments, getting a credit card, how you should save and invest your money. I really wish I would have been more educated before doing a lot of this stuff. As I got older, I did do research on houses and what to look for when wanting to get a new car, and how to invest and save my money wisely.
7) Don’t get upset if a relationship doesn’t work out. God has bigger and better plans. Where do I begin with this!? I was always, “poor me, poor me, no one loves me” when a relationship with a guy didn’t work out, whether that be getting friend zoned, being ghosted or the guy just didn’t like me the same way that I liked him. I took that way too seriously and thought it was the end of the world at times. I knew that God had a bigger and better plan for me. The reason why I went through those past relationships was because he had Kane waiting for me. I just had to open my eyes and let God take control instead of me taking control of my relationships. God is good!
8) Be patient. Story of my life. Patience is key. Kane actually taught me to be patient. It took him 5 months to actually kiss me and 6 months to ask me to be his girlfriend. I was always the girl who wanted to kiss a guy on the first date. (well…if I liked him enough) and I did like Kane FAST enough that I wanted that right away. But we got to know each other as friends first and then build that relationship up. Now I’m married to my best friend. But this also applies with us wanting to start a family. We know that it’s all in God’s timing and his timing is perfect and that He is in control. During our Bible study, my father in law told me that we need to be careful when we pray for patience because it could be a lifetime of waiting. He told us to be specific to our Lord when asking for patience.
9) It’s okay to say ‘no’. Back to the fact that I’m a people pleaser. It is okay to say no. I’ve noticed that I tend to burn myself out and I keep putting more and more tasks on my plate and my plate is getting heavy. I’ve learned these past 6 or so months that it is okay to say no. People will get over it and move on. A positive factor that I get out of this is that by me saying no to something, it gives another person an opportunity to do something that maybe they love. Plus, they might do a way better job that what I would. I know that I don’t want to burn myself out, I become stressed, emotional, it’s hard on my health and I know that I will probably half-ass it and not do a very good job.
10) People come and go in your life for a reason. In the past, I’ve lost a very very close friend to me. And it hurt me, a lot. I still think about her a lot and I even have dreams about her. I wish for her happiness and she seems to be very happy at the stage in her life. I’m not 100% sure what had happened between us. It could have been the distance, time, different stages in our life, life happening, or just losing touch. Whatever it was…it happened for a reason (as much as I don’t like saying that). I do wish her much happiness, love and success in her life. I know she has that and will receive more of it. I hope that one day I run into her, smile, wave, talk to her and even receive a hug. I miss her and hope that she’s doing well.
It’s my birthday week…do people still celebrate like that…?
Anyways, here’s to my 30’s and I’m excited to see what this year brings for me!
