I just turned 20 years old. I am officially in my 20’s! Woohoo! For me, this feels like a very important age. People expect more out of me, I feel like an adult and a child at the same time, and I am very confused. It’s a day-to-day kind of feeling. Sometimes I’m crushing it, sometimes I’m not. That’s ok. In honor of becoming 20, I decided to share 10 things I have learned on my road to 20, and 10 things I hope to learn in my 20’s.

10 Things I have learned in my 20 years:

1. How to be a good family member.

If there is one thing I am most grateful for in my whole life, it is my family. I have a twin sister and the most amazing parents in the world. They taught me the importance of doing your share of the housework, making sure your space is always clean, good routines, work ethic, and so much more. We, knock on wood, have a loving, functional, amazing family. They have shown me what I need to have my standards set for men, and people in my life. They showed me that things can always work out but you have to work hard. Never settle. They are my inspirations daily.

2. The importance of networking/ having friend groups.

Having a good friend group and networking skills is everything during this age. I have had internships and opportunities that I would have never gotten to experience if I didn’t know how to network or ask friends for help.

3. When it comes to health, it’s never to early to start.

wether it’s working out, taking multivitamins or probiotics, moisturizing, whatever. Start NOW. Prevention is easier than fixing. Wear your retainer, go for a run, and take your damn vitamins. Your body will thank you. Wearing sunscreen and eating well is going to help you stay looking young and feeling young. Start now so you don’t have to reverse anything as you get older.

4. Work ethic is everything.

You need to work hard for what you want. It’s as simple as that.

5. Organization is key.

Being organized will help you in every aspect of life. Financially, socially, academically, literally everywhere. Having a daily planner, making detailed plans for projects, and just having all of your ducks in a row will help you be so productive and so much more clear-minded. I find when I am not organized in one area of my life, the rest of my life starts to fall apart. It’s a good thing to be a little anal about things sometimes.

6. Not everything is so serious.

Being an adult seems scary because you think you have to be so serious and on top of life all of the time. That just isn’t true. Like a lot of people my age, I have no idea what I am doing. I don’t need to be 100% sure of everything. What I do need to do is chill out and just laugh with my friends and family. Spend quality time with them and enjoy the life I have.

7. Try everything.

You never know when you could find a new passion, career goal, or favorite drink. I think it is so important to try everything. Try things you think you might not like, try things you thought was interesting that one-time someone brought it up, do that thing you have been wanting to do forever. Trying something could lead your life on a whole new path you didn’t even think was possible. You think I ever thought I would have a blog? hell no. You know what I tried and loved? Having a blog.

8. Remember to love learning.

You will never grow as a person if you are not willing to learn and keep learning. There is something so exciting but also scary about the fact that no single person will ever know everything, but you sure as hell can try.

9. Know how to do basic things.

Know what settings your clothes need to be washed on. Know how to change a tire. Know when it’s time to replace your sheets and your toothbrush. basic time management. How to drive a car. What to eat. How much water you need to drink a day. The general idea of taxes. What is going on in politics.

10. Don’t expect anything.

We all have ideas of what we want our lives to look like. It will never turn out the way you thought it would. We have expectations of our friends and family of how they should treat and love us. Don’t expect anything. Just give your all and know you loved and treated everyone close to you as purely and wholeheartedly as you can. You expect to get an A on a project because you worked hard but got a D. Don’t expect anything JUST because you worked hard. Sometimes your best wasn’t good enough. Learn from it and move on.

10 Things I hope to learn in my 20’s:

1. How to love me more.

I know this one seems deep, and it kind of is. I want to figure out my goals and who I am, at least for now, so I am able to fall in love with who I am. I have a lot to figure out in terms of what I want out of life, where exactly I want to end up, and with who. It is a lot to focus on but I want to figure at least a little bit of it out and start to get to know me better.

2. How to make leaving home easier.

It doesn’t matter how long I am home for or how long it has been since I have seen any member of my family, leaving them always sucks. How do I make it not such a sad thing? Does it get easier?

3. Budgeting.

I am an OK budget-er. I know how to use an app to log how much I spend a week, allow myself a certain amount of money for certain things, blah blah blah. But, I would like to be incredibly organized and on top of my financials. It would help me feel more secure, save for the future, and allow me to live the life I want.

4. Figure out my sense of style.

I would describe my current style as fashion fluid. I am all over the place in terms of style. I want to find the style that embodies who I am and what I want to do.

5. How to change my car’s oil & drive stick shift.

I just really feel like this is something I should know how to do and I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

6. Travel alone.

In today’s social climate it is very frowned upon to travel alone. It “isn’t safe” but I really feel like a trip alone would benefit me. It would teach me a lot about how street smart I am, how I function alone in a new place and how to connect with people. I want to travel and learn so much from all different cultures and It would be nice to not have to rely on always going with someone. Just live and learn on my own for a little bit.

7. Find a hair color & cut I love.

Good hair is a big deal. It can make or break a look. It can help your confidence immensely. It would be really nice to find a cut and color that works for my face shape and makes me feel so good all of the time.

8. Find a job I really love.

This one might take a long time, and might not ever happen like it does for some people. But, I would love to find the perfect job for me. Something I get to wake up excited for every morning. Something that does more for me than just pay the bills.

9. Buy my parents a vacation.

One of my goals, when I save up enough money, is to send my parents on vacation. One day I would love to do something to pay them back for everything they have done, but that is impossible. The first step to paying them back, in my eyes, would be sending them on their dream vacation.

10. Have clarity.

I know I will never have 100% clarity of where my life is going. But I would like to have clarity in my life in my 20’s. I would like to know where my job is going. If I am going to marry the person I am with or be single. If I will be moving or settling down somewhere. An answer to any one question I have is enough.