20 Things I Have Learned In 20 Years

During my 20 years of living I think I have learned some pretty good lessons that I'd love to share. When I was little 20 sounded so old... honestly still seems pretty old. That is a total of two decades. Anyways, I would love to share with you twenty things I have learned in twenty years.

1. Don't let someone discourage you from doing something you want to do

2. Just because I am scared doesn't mean it exists

3. I don't know many things, but I want to try to learn as much as I can. 

4. It's okay to be sad you are not going to be happy all the time.

5. Not everyone will like you.

6. It's okay to fail at things, we are not perfect.

7. If you are not happy, change something.

8. Ask for help

9. Explore as much as you can your only this young once

10. Have an open mind, so you can experience everything in a different perspective. 

11. Spend as much time with your family, you won't live close to them forever. 

12. Put your phone down and experience the moment 

13. Always set some time so you can relax

14. Drink lots of water and eat healthy

15. Find time to hang out with your friends once in a while

16. Don't procrastinate

17. Dress for the weather

18. Make weird fashion choices

19. Trust yourself 

20. Be nice to everyone you meet. 

Those are just 20 things I have learned in my 20 years of living. Now it's your turn, I challenge you to make your own list and stick to them, and maybe add one more every year. Personally, I try to do at least 5 or more of these a day! If I can do it, so can you!

My Favorite Spoken Word Prefomances

This is for all my poetry fanatics, spoken word is on stage performance where poets read out their poems like a story or over an issue. I enjoy watching spoken word because you can see the emotion in the person and you can really feel the passion they have for that topic. I want to share my favorite spoken word performances.

1) To This Day- Shane Koyczan: This spoken word was one of the very first that I listened to, and after this I fell in love. Shane does an amazing job telling a story, and making you feel beautiful, and strong. I promise this is a video worth watching. My favorite quote from this poem is:

"If you can't see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror, look a little closer, stare a little longer. Because there's something inside you that made you keep trying despite everyone who ever told you to quit. You built a cast around your heart, and signed it yourself. You signed it "they were wrong"  

(Shane Koyczan)

2) Somewhere In America: While I was watching poetry slams I came across this one and it really opened my eyes. These three girls: Belissa Escobedo, Rhiannon McGavin, and Zariya Allen are part of a program called Get Lit that helps increase teen literacy through spoken word poetry.

"The teacher never fails, only you do. Every state in America, the greatest lessons are the ones you don't remember learning." (Get Lit) 

3) Rape Poems To End All Rape Poems: Justice Hehir, Lindsey Michelle Williams, Kate Thomas, and Michelle Williams from Rutger University expressed the topic of rape culture and their view on the topic. The poem starts off by addressing how they will preform "another rape poem" because they feel  there will be more rape poems until people will address and fix the problem. This poem speaks volume and gave me chills.

"Until no really means NO! Until rape means crime. Until woman means human. All these rape poems will continue until there is no damn material left" (Rutger University)

These are some of my favorite spoken word poems and I hope you like them too. If you have an spoken word favorites share them in the comments, I would love to see other people's favorites,

One Act Of Kindness

       Everyone is fighting their own battle, but most people don't even seem to notice. I have always been the kind of person to be friends with everyone, and even though I moved many times making friends was not hard. I am not really the kind of person to be in a "clique". I was always friends with everyone because I feel that everyone needs a friend. But I know people do get lonely and can cause depression and feel as if you can be surrounded by hundreds of people but still feel alone. For as long as I remember I always smiled and said hi to people in the hallways when I walked by but someone told me they felt intimidated by the amount of people I know and have waved to and said hi to in the halls. To me that was kind of odd, but I guess I always knew that something good came out of it.

But just recently I was told that this girl I knew had depression and had tried to kill herself twice but never did. She said that it was the little things that people did to make her day and that stopped her from ending her life. She expressed that it was people smiling at her, saying hi to her in the halls, and complimenting her. Me and this girl would get to school early and we would always just sit and talk until the bell rang and to know that it was the little things that stopped her warms my heart. I knew if I could at least make one persons day better then I've made a difference.

Its one act of kindness that can really change someone life, and can make you a change not only that person's life but yours as well. Even if you are the one having a bad day, smile at someone because I grantee that it will make your day better as well as the other person.

So please think about what you say and do because it can make or break a person. Challenge yourself to start getting to know new people to say hi to people around you, even if you don't  know them. It can save a life rather than ending one.

A Letter To My Younger Self

Dear eight year old me...

IT'S OKAY! Everything is going to be okay, I promise you. Stop worrying about the little things, and look ahead to the big things. The things you are worried about now will not matter years from now. It is all going to be worth it at the end. So stop worrying, and just enjoy everything around you.

Never stop being motivated, that is something that you have always been good at. You are going to have challenges, defeats, heartbreak, and feel like you have let yourself down. But use those feelings to motivate you and pick you up and strive to be get better.

Don't push people away open up to people, and make friends. Things happen and you say your goodbyes and your going to have to leave everything behind, but don't shut people out. Make a friend, go out like you are now, and enjoy every second of it. Before you know it these will all be memories one day so enjoy it while it lasts.

Stepping away from something is perfectly okay, go try new things. I guarantee you will not regret any of it. You may be unsure of your decisions but just go for it, and be yourself. Don't let other people's judgment of you determine the decisions you make.

Finally, do whatever makes you happy and go with it. If you are worried things don't work out just do it, especially if it makes you happy. Everything happens for a reason so don't force things to happen let it happen.

Love always, 
Eighteen year old me