26 Things I've Learned After 26

In four days, I turn 18 for the 9th time. I don't know what makes it worse-- the fact that I'm a year older, that most of my family won't be here, or that I'm flat broke.

But then, being down and out when you're turning 18 again is enough to put me in a retrospective mood.

And so far, here are some of what I've gathered after 18 or so years of existence. I've learned:

1) That traveling keeps you open-minded

2) That the tide ALWAYS changes

3) That people come and go but you can't uncut family ties

4) That Internet technology is useful but overrated. Nothing beats hard work and personal relationships

5) That so many people get burned out without having ever really lived. That many people lead lives of quiet desperation. That most people whine not really because they're destitute but because they're bored and have lost the fire to fight and live.

6) That trends come and go so it's better to be comfortable in your own style

7) Not to take myself too seriously. I used to worry too much about things before I realized that most of the time, people don't really mind you. Not when they're too busy minding themselves

8) That forever is a loooong time.

9) To enjoy my own company as much as I enjoy others. To be always interested but attach myself totally to nothing and no one.

10) That there will always be people better off AND worse off than you are

11) That outward beauty spoils and adversity (read: loss, pain) builds character

12) That not everybody who offers you a drink is a waiter. So next time, take the hint!!

13) That it's not food, but a smile, that gets faster to a man's heart or to any person's heart for that matter

14) Not everyone who's bitchy to you or who gives you a cold shoulder hates you. Chances are, they're just scared and unsure. To give people a break, for after all, we're all still just struggling to live the best life we can.

15) To take my coffee black. To actually like fish and vegetables

16) That there is no such thing as true love for love is always true. If it isn't, then it's not love at all.

17) That exercise, water, and laughter are the three most inexpensive ways to a more beautiful lifestyle

18) That when you fight nature, you hurt yourself. When you fight God, you always lose.

19) It's only in the giving of the self that one finds the purest joy. You can't have joy and not love God at the same time.

20) To say "I love you" when it matters. To not hold it back or the moment will just pass you by.

21) That politics is a dirty business

22) That the best way to have something is to give it. You won't matter to people if they don't matter to you

23) Once you stop learning, you get left behind.

24) That I am beautiful no matter what they say. After all, I was fearfully and wonderfully made by a God who loves me.

25) Not to limit myself to one world. I know that if I do, nothing will balance me out and I'm bound to go insane.

26) That everything and this, too, shall pass.