Happy birthday to me, I guess. The irony of turning 18 the day before Independence Day is not lost on me, but it got me thinking about how lucky I was to have an incredible childhood that taught me all about the world. So as I enter this new, unfamiliar territory, I wanted to document all the most important lessons I’ve learnt so far. Here goes:
1. Everything is a medium through which growth can occur. Life is full of good times and hard times and sad times and dark times and it is okay to feel lost. It is okay to be lost, down, and helpless as long as you remember everything is character building and shaping and defining. I finished high school recently and as we walked out the gates for the very last time, my best friend turned to me and asked, “Well, what do we do now?” We knew that we would all be leaving for universities and new adventures in September. I looked back at school and thought about all the lessons we had learned there, mostly those we had learned outside the classroom. I said, “Well, I guess, we cry. And then we see this as a catalyst for growth. We have spent so many years growing and we must grow and grow, even if we’re miles apart.” We are all accumulations of our experiences and we must remember that.
2. We are all dying. It’s a harsh reality, but one we could all benefit from keeping in touch with. It is imperative to do so because life is unfairly short. Nobody deserves to die at 18 and yet, recently I’ve watched so many people pass on and it’s been beyond horrendous for those left behind, but I’ve watched them be filled with a new sense of urgency to get out and see the world as the metaphorical sand-timer looms over them ever more prominently. See, we think we have all the time in the world with people but sadly we don’t. Often we don’t even have right now. Tomorrow is a beautiful, hazy day dream of what ifs and tomorrow never comes, we must seize the day before the day seizes us.
3. Being a good person is important above anything else. I’ve done a lot of thinking about gratitude lately, and I’ve been thinking about how important it is to be grateful for all whom you have crossed paths with, even those who hurt you, for they too bring lessons. But I think I’ve finally realized the importance of being gentle in word and thought because it doesn’t matter how much money you have or how successful you are. Without the love and support of people who care about you, those whose opinions you value most, then what does any of it matter? Nothing you do will ever be of any value if it is not done with kindness and good intention. Remember that.
4. Life can be hard… and yet amazing and so incredibly beautiful. Life is never easy or simple, but despite all the sadness, the days when I could barely peel myself out of the sheets, and the weeks where I couldn’t even put a pen to paper, I know that it’s worth it. It’s worth it for the smile on your face when you finally finish school because you get to scream songs you half remember at strangers out of car windows and the way you and your friends pour out your drunken hearts to each other on dirty club bathroom floors. I’m a firm believer that without sadness we would never understand joy, so when life hands me Ls (as it does so frequently right now), I think back to all the nights I felt alive, up on my best friend’s shoulders and I make peace with the sadness, because it is here far too often to fight against.
5. There is so much life ahead of you. I like talking to my friends who are sophomores because they think they’ve got the world all figured out and I know they can’t project when I try and tell them how much they’ll learn and grow and change in the next two years and how amazing that is. It got me thinking about the future and how many testing and teaching two years there are to come. It got me thinking about all the drinks there are to puke up on nights out and corporate jobs there are to hate and school lunches to pack. I don’t know what life will throw at me, but I’m ready to find out. I’m ready for the highs and the lows and all the awkward in-betweens because whilst chapter one “childhood” is done, there are so many chapters yet to come.
Good luck, I guess, to a whole generation finally embarking on adulthood. Let us make the changes, embrace the love and better the world.
