29 Things I Learned in 2019
2019 was a hard year for me… but I’ve also learned more this year than I ever thought I would.
I started the year landing in Sydney, Australia… and end it here in the U.S.
Never did I think starting 2019 in Down Under that the middle of the year would throw me the curveball that it did. I already feel like a completely different person, I already feel like I was more naïve then than I am now… and I guess that’s how I know that the year has done its job.
The majority of the year equated to hurting, but I am so grateful for the things I have learned.
Without a doubt, here are 29 things that I learned in 2019:
1. Love Is a Risk
No matter who you are. Adele split from her husband. Miley and Liam finally parted ways… and let’s not get started, on David and Liza.
If you’re going to bet your heart, always know the odds.
2. I Don’t Want a Doormat as a Boyfriend
I can buy one of those at Target.
I’d like a human with actual thoughts, emotions, and, well… flaws.
It’s not too hard to find a “nice guy” who will call when he’s supposed to and text all the things a girl wants to hear… but a girl with confidence couldn’t care less what a guy thinks about her appearance.
I want someone to love me for my mind. I want my relationship to be functional. I want it to be the boring, comfortable crap that the media never describes as being so wonderful.
I want my relationship to make sense… but I also deserve for my relationship to have some sensibility.
I deserve attraction without attachment.
You are worthy of both. Never settle for less than what you feel is right.
3. Relationships Mean Sacrifice
Getting a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a partner or whatever the heck you want to call it isn’t the end…
…it’s the beginning.
A relationship, a marriage… that’s where it all starts: the communication, the desire to upkeep its strength, trust, and, well… the sacrifices that you will have to make in order to sustain a healthy partnership.
4. I Might Like Tea Just as Much as I Like Coffee
Scary, yet oddly satisfying plot twist.
5. What I Want Out of Life is Quite Simple
The list goes like this:
1. Live in Europe as an Expat
2. Travel the World
3. Find Success as a Writer
4. Own Property in Paris
If something more happens, cool.
If nothing more happens… also cool.
6. Life is the Longest Movie There Is
There’s a good reason why this life doesn’t have a fast forward button, and that’s because it wouldn’t be any fun to watch if we already knew everything that was going to happen.
Time is like a stamp, and the ink is only a memory.
Enjoy the movie. This disc only plays from start to finish; there’s no rewinding, pausing, or anything to do but watch.
7. You Must Be Willing to Set People Free
You’ll never find out if they were ever really yours in the first place if you don’t.
If they’re meant to be in your life… somehow, someway, one day – they will be.
8. When A Guy Says, “I’m Not Looking for a Relationship Right Now…”
… it means that he doesn’t want a relationship with you.
9. I’m Very Lucky
I’m not sick. I’m not in debt. While things aren’t perfect, I’ve had it pretty good– and I am very fortunate to have had all the experiences that I have in my still very young life.
10. Trust the Timing of Your Life
Even when things don’t seem to be going your way, there’s always a greater reason behind it. Some unfortunate, at the time, the-end-of-the-world events that happened to me in the middle of this year… I am already able to understand their significance in hindsight.
11. I Really Like to Be Alone
I am 110% extroverted. My energy levels skyrocket when I’m storytelling in a large group of people. I like to create connections and share… but ultimately, I am very selfish.
I want to do what I want to do, when I want to do it, and not answer to anyone…
… and I’ve learned this year, that despite what society says, that there really isn’t anything wrong with that.
12. The Only Way to Get Over Something, Is to Go Through It
Read more about this one here.
13. We Don’t Always Get What We Want in This World…
… but we do absolutely get everything that we need. This moment occurred to me when I was sitting in a cafe in Munich, very much denying that my heart was hurting me. I realized that while the man of my dreams may be out of reach, that the land of dreams is something that I can very much give myself.
From the day I had my epiphany in Munich; May 2019.
Do not question what the universe has in store for you… whatever you need, the world will make sure that you have it.
14. My Heart is With a Place, & It Always Will Be
We just might almost make it…
15. Don’t Ever Lose Sight of Your Dreams
No matter what anyone tells you.
16. Daydreaming is Dangerous
Writing a Hollywood-like-script to how you want your love story to go is treacherous. I still think dreaming is good… but a pinch of being pragmatic, at times, is powerful too.
Don’t ever lose yourself in someone else, because at the end of the day… the only person you’re going to have, guaranteed for life, is you.
17. It Is Extremely Heartbreaking to Outgrow Someone in Your Life
Refer back to number 6…
18. Writing is the Most Effective Therapy I’ve Found
I love to travel. I love to make music. I love to cook & bake… I love to create, but I haven’t found another form of creating that is as therapeutic as writing is for me.
19. Have Hope
A wise woman I met while I was sobbing my eyes out whilst writing at a bar said to me,
“Remember, it’s important to never give up hope on other people, but it’s mostly important to never give up hope on yourself.”
20. Pushing Away Someone You Love is Hard
It is a pain that I do not wish upon anyone… not even my worst enemy.
P.S. – refer back to numbers 6, 7, 10, & 17…
21. Healing Isn’t Linear
It’s very much like a spiral staircase.
You’re going to make some twists, some turns, some relapses… but at the end of the day, whether you can see it or not, you’re still working your way up.
And that’s really all that matters.
22. No Place is Perfect
I have moved all of my life, and (I think it’s safe to say that) I’ve traveled the world.
I have learned that just like people, if you’re constantly searching for the perfect place… you’ll only be disappointed.
It’s about picking the place where the bad things outweigh the good. Where the things you love about it are worth it over the things you dislike about it.
23. Enjoy Everything Being Up in the Air
Because one day, sooner than you and I think… it won’t be.
24. You Can’t Keep Growing if You Don’t Keep Going
Staying in your safety zone means you’ll stay the same.
Being bold can bring you to the brink of the beginning of a beautiful new chapter.
25. Go with Your Gut
“Advice” from random strangers means very little to me, by this point.
26. I’m Not Afraid to Get Old
I’m only afraid of my time getting away from me.
27. You Never Stop Growing
Our past makes us who we are. I’m merely the summation of the places I have been and the people I have loved…
…and that’s why they say that it isn’t about the destination… it’s about the journey.
28. Anything Is Possible
If you set your mind, and more importantly, your heart to it… nothing is out of reach.
P.S. – Law of Attraction.
29. I Have My Whole Life Ahead of Me
Even though I’m only 21, I constantly have to remind myself that despite how much of the world I have seen, the fights I have endured, the pain I have suffered, the love I have felt…
… that it’s still, all, only just the beginning.
2019, you were the hardest year yet: but also, the one with the most growth… and for that, I thank you.
2020, I welcome you to rock my world.