21 Things I Have Learned in the Last 21 Years

1. There's a difference between genuinely caring about others and selfishly caring for others - and it's pretty clear to everyone else in the room.
2. As humans, we often underestimate our capacity for joy. Life can be fuller than what we settle for.
3. When you're humble, you don't know you're humble.
4. Sometimes friends can provide for our basic need for belonging better than our family can.
5. I can do hard things.
6. If I park my car in the street by the mailbox on a Friday night, by the time I wake up Saturday morning my dad will have washed it.
7. Cliche advice means nothing without personal experience.
8. Discipline and self-control are active steps towards holiness and intimacy with God.
9. Dwell not on "why did this happen" but on "what now can I do, in light of these circumstances"
10. Teachers and professors are almost always willing to encourage and foster my desire to go above and beyond, even if it means more work for them.
11. It's a bad idea to get your dad a dog for fathers' day without telling your mom first.
12. "gratitude attitude" is a good mantra. If you're focused on what you DO have it's hard to notice the things that are missing.
13. If you back up your car without looking, you might roll backwards down a hill... or hit a 1998 Honda Civic.
14. If you don't know what to do next, do SOMETHING. Move forward.
15. There's a difference between quitting a sports team in the middle of the season and deciding to not play again the following year. The former is inconsiderate to the team, the latter is a mature decision.
16. God is good; even when circumstances aren't.
17. The elderly make good mentors. and good best friends.
18. Sometimes other people are more articulate at voicing my thoughts than I am. Quotes, song lyrics, poems, etc.
19. You don't make many friends if you're mad all the time. And you don't get much done either.
20. Drink more water.
21. I still have a long way to go.