24 Things I’ve Learnt from my 24 Years of Living…

Last updated on 4 May 2016

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Today’s my birthday. I’m 24. And that kinda scares me. That means that I’ve actually completed by 24th year of living on this planet, and that I am entering my 25th year. That’s a quarter of a century, people! Despite the fact that I like to deny I’m 24 and not still 8 years old, I was thinking about who-knows-what a while ago, and then a thought popped into my head and I thought ‘hey, that’s quite good advice’. I realised that even though I feel old and there are days I just want to go back to primary school or kindergarten, I’ve learnt a lot of good tips just by trial and error…and silly mistakes and occurrences. So I thought I’d share my worldly wisdom with you all. Dear friends, I give you… 24 things I’ve learnt from my 24 years of life. In no particular order.

1. Never watch an emotional video clip when you’ve just applied your make up

The amount of times I’ve clicked on an interesting looking clip that someone has posted on Facebook just after I’ve gotten ready for the day…and then discovering that it’s a tear-jerker and I have to fix my face…well, it’s happened more than once, let’s just say that.

2. If you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up, but you want to go to Uni/College, go anyway and just do what you love

Seriously. Sure you might come out of Uni with a Philosophy degree that won’t get you a job in Philosophy, but if you loved doing it, who cares?! Don’t go to Uni and do something that will ‘get you a job’ when you leave. Don’t do it. It’ll all work out okay, and you’ll be glad you didn’t sit for hours and hours in lectures that you hated. Study what you love. Let the rest follow in it’s own way.

3. Keep blogging

If you’re new to the blogging world, and you’re feeling like you’re actually not going very far and you’ve written about ten posts that begin with ‘I know that no one reads this but…’, then can I just tell you: don’t give up. Keep blogging. I had a blog for nearly 2 years before I even got a follower. Sure, it took a little time, but I’m so glad I stuck at it. Blogging is the best. Hands down. Keep blogging, friend!

4. Sauerkraut is not sour like gummie worms

Growing up, I always wondered why they called it ‘sourkraut’ when it actually wasn’t sour. Sour to me was like sour gummie worms. That weird sensation when your face scrunches up, and your tongue feels like it’s being attacked by small soldiers with spears. But I have learnt, dear friends, that Sauerkraut is just really yucky cabbage that lets you down when you realise it doesn’t taste like sour gummie worms.

5. Bend and Snap

When you drop something, I’m sure the majority of us ladies think ‘bend and snap’ when we go to pick it up. Don’t deny it, friends! But I have learnt that if you are going to do the bend and snap, then to save yourself embarrassment, only do this when no one is around. Also, look out for your elbows. They often tend to get jammed into your stomach if you’re snapping too enthusiastically.

6. Music makes everything better

A good day, a bad day. Feeling sad, angry, happy, in love, hurt, lost, adventurous, lonely, scared, excited, pumped up, inspired. There is music for everything. Play it.

7. When in doubt, go somewhere new

I had no idea what to do after Uni, so I packed my things, jumped on a plane and ended up spending 2 years in England. And I can tell you, those were some of the best years I’ve ever had.

8. Grab as many free pens as you can at University open days

If you’re headed to Uni (or maybe even if you’re not), go around all the stalls at the open days, grab your freebie pen. Then go around again. You won’t have to buy another pen all year.

9. After you get to about 20 years old, you need your full 8 hours sleep

Truth. High school it was all good. You had the energy to get away with about 4 hours sleep. But when you get a little older…nope! Give me 8 solid hours or expect me to be a zombie the next day. Sleep, my friends, sleep!

10. Slang moves on without you

After even a short period of time when you’re done at school and perhaps you’ve moved on to University, or you’ve got your first ‘real’ job, you’ll hear students and kids around you using slang that you never knew existed. Kids are saying what these days?! And nothing makes sense. But I’ve learnt to accept that slang has moved on with it’s life; it’s grown, and evolved (or devolved), it has new friends now…and so should I.

11. Some friends won’t always be your friends…

In high school I had a close group of friends, and then some in the next ring out, if you like, and then the rest of my year, and then the school…and, well you know how it goes, right? Right. So in my small group of besties there were 5 of us that were the most constant, from year 9 till 13. We did everything together, went to everything together, ate lunch together every day, and they were my best friends. Now? I’m only in constant contact with 2 of them, and they are still both really good friends of mine. But the others? I don’t even remember the last time I saw them.

Then there were a few people I was confident that we would be friends forever…and I haven’t spoken to since high school. Life happens. Friends drift apart. That’s just how it goes. But those friends who are still your friends when your old and grey (or just…turning 24), those friends, especially if you met in college/university, they’ll be the ones your going to have for the rest of your life. Hopefully. And if not, hey, there’s another one waiting for your friendship around the corner, right?

12. There’s no such thing as too much reading

People sometimes say I read too much. Pfft. What do they know? Ignore those people, my friends. Ignore them. Books will never say that to you. Ever.

13. Sunscreen is your friend

Especially if you live with a hole in the ozone layer above your head. Put it on, people! Slip slop slap, as we say here in NZ. Otherwise you will end up looking like a lobster that tripped and fell into a bucket of red paint (yes, that red).

14. Fashion changes, but you shouldn’t

I’ve never really been one to follow the fashion trends. Sure, if something is ‘in’ and I like it, then yeah, I’ll buy it and I will rock it along with everyone else. But if it’s something I hate, I’m not going to buy it just because it’s the ‘in’ thing, the ‘now’ thing, the ‘all the cool kids are wearing it’ thing. Tomorrow it will be gone in a flash, and you’ll end up with a bunch of things you’ll either never wear again, or won’t fit when the trend comes back into fashion. Be true to yourself and your personality, and you’ll always been in style.

15. Laughing hurts

You’d never think it, right? Something so joyous and wonderful and, well, hilarious, can’t be the cause of such pain?! Can it? It can! The amount of times I haven’t been able to breathe, and I’m rolling off sofas, clutching my stomach at the laughter pains are too numerous to count. No one told me when I was little that laughing could hurt so much!

16. First impressions never last

It’s true. I can’t even remember the first time I met the majority of the people I know. Sure one or two people stick out because of the way that I met them, but I don’t remember what I thought of them then. First impressions don’t define someone new, they define you. Don’t judge people on what you thought of when you first met them. Not worth it. Who knows? That person who you thought was a little bit crazy? They probably thought the same about you. They might even be your new best friend.

17. The world is both ginormous and tiny at the same time

Living in small island nation at the bottom of the world means everything else is far, far away. Even Australia seems like a world away. I always knew the world was a ginormous place, I’m sure we all do, and it only got bigger when I travelled. Seriously, there are so many places to go and to see! It’s amazing! I love it! But at the same time, wow, this world is a small, small place. I was walking down a street in London last year (no wait…2013) when I ran into two people from my home church back in New Zealand. I didn’t know they were in England, I didn’t know they were in London. What were the odds that I was visiting London that day, and we all happen to be walking down the same street at the same time? That’s. Crazy. The world is huge, but my goodness it’s small.

18. You’re never too old for a kids’ movie

The amount of times that I’ve been to see a kids’ film at the movies, when I didn’t have an actual child to accompany, is, oh about 100% of the time. Not even kidding. I love kids’ movies, and now that I’m way past the stage of being considered an ‘adult’, am I going to stop watching them? Heck.No. In fact, tomorrow, look out for a post about the latest children’s movie I saw.

19. Washi tape is genius

That stuff is amazing, guys. I love it. There is so much you can do with it! Decorate with it, stick things to the wall with it (coz it peels off nicely), seal envelopes with it…And it looks so good!

20. TV shows are addictive

The amount of times I’ve discovered (and I’m 100% certain it’s not just me) a new show that I haven’t seen before and I’ve watched all the episodes from every season there was…in a row. In a short space of time. My goodness. Once you get into the flow on it…you might as well live in the TV world.

21. NaNoWriMo is the best thing ever

It’s such a good motivation tool! I would have written my novel without the motivation and goal-a-day structure of NaNoWriMo. It’s so good!

22. Coffee tables, sofas, bed legs, fire place surrounds, and door thresholds are all members of the toe-stubbing family

The amount of times I have stubbed my little, big and all the middle toes (that’s right, I just listed all the toes) on one of these things is so immense I don’t even have a number that I can fathom. But after 24 years I still haven’t learnt how to avoid said objects.

23. Don’t try to be someone or something your not

I’ve known who I am for a long time. One day in intermediate (I was 12) I remember thinking that ‘hey, I don’t actually care what those people think. This is who I am’, and that was that. I think I was lucky, in a sense, but even now I look at some things and I think ‘wow, that’s really awesome. I want to do that, or be just like that’. And there’s nothing wrong with striving to be better, with having someone to look up to (in fact, that’s awesome!), but I’ve learnt that if you look at someone/thing and go to lengths to change yourself or what you do to fit that mould, you feel awful when it goes wrong and it doesn’t work like that other person’s. It’s not your fault. It’s just not you. I tried to be neat and tidy once…lasted a few days before the piles of books, the cluster of coloured pens and paper were stacked high around me. I tried. I failed. I need mess to fuel my creativity. I can’t be tidy. It’s not me. So I stopped trying to be tidy. I’m going to let someone else be tidy instead.

24. Don’t take life too seriously

Seriously. Don’t do it. Breathe. It’ll be fine. It’s no big deal. Live your life. If something doesn’t work out, it’s okay. You can fix it, change it, make it into what you want it to be. Love, even when it’s difficult to do so. Laugh…a lot. It’s good for you (even if it hurts sometimes – see number 15). Giggle. Be silly, because, as Doe Zantamata said, ‘Silliness makes your soul smile’.

Bonus: It’s really hard to think of 24 things that I’ve learnt…

This was a hard list to make. I’ll tell you a secret…I’ve actually been working on it for month and months. This was not a ‘sit down and write it all in one go’ kind of post. But you know what else? I know that there is so much more that I have learnt (I did go to school for 13 years, and University for 3 after all), but these things I thought were practical to share with you guys.

Anyway, that’s that. Here’s to stepping into year number 25. I shall have to remember to say ’24’ when people ask how old I am. I have a good feeling about this year. I don’t know what it is; I don’t have any big plans, or even really that many small ones, but there’s just something about it…hmmm. Bring it on!