21 Things I Learned Before Turning 21
19 Feb 2019
Oh hey, I turn 21 on Wednesday 20th February. I have a lot of knowledge, although most of it admittedly is mainly pretty useless, but I thought I'd share a little bit as I reminisce over the past 21 years of life.
1. Smile
You've all probably heard the saying that smiling burns more calories than frowning. In theory, it probably doesn't but smiling is always a good thing to do.
2. Hamilton is worth the hype
That's all I have to say on this subject but if you get the chance to go and see this show DO IT!
3. Più bello della vita non c'è niente
It may be a line from one of my absolute all-time favourite songs (La Vita by Il Volo) but it's also been my life motto since 2016, It translates from Italian as 'There is nothing that is more beautiful than life' and even though life can suck sometimes, that's a truth universally acknowledged but even in the low moments life is still beautiful and it's important to enjoy every little bit of it.
4. You will grow
Sometimes people ask me why I still have all my old Instagram photos still on my feed but I love scrolling through to see how far my content has come in the past (insert number) here. If you're not at the point that you want to be at now, whether it's physically, mentally or creatively you won't stay at that point forever you'll grow and develop and someday you'll be able to look back at what you used to be and where you are now and be excited for all that's still to come because we never stop growing.
5. Passion is power
BE PASSIONATE, that is my biggest thing. If you have nothing to be passionate about you must have a very boring life. I'm at the extreme end of the passion spectrum though and will get very very passionate about things very very quickly but what's the point in liking things casually?
6. Freedom is a gift
I know where every country in the world is on a map and it's a skill that I am very very proud of. In some countries, they don't have the same freedoms that we have here and it's important to remember that so many of the things that we take for granted are punishable by death in many countries and people undergo things that we couldn't even imagine on a daily basis. (Check out the World Watch List from Open Doors)
7. Not for a minute was I forsaken
In Deuteronomy 31:6 it says 'Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you'. Not forsaken was the truth I spoke over my life in 2018. No matter how far we wander from God, He will never forsake us, no matter what's going on in our lives, He will never forsake us. My favourite worship song of all time is 'Here Again' by Elevation Worship and just getting to declare 'Not for a minute was I forsaken, the Lord is in this place', just always brings me so much joy and peace and comfort. It's the anthem I choose to sing over my life.
8. Life's too short to keep hating Eurovision
This is a PSA to inform you that the Eurovision Song Contest is more than just a trashy europop festival and deserves credit and respect in the music industry please and thank you. Honestly so many great songs and artists come out of the whole Eurovision scene every single year and so many people miss out on it because of the universal bandwagon of Eurovision bashing and I'm not about it. (This has absolutely nothing to do with the final of the Eurovision Song Contest being my favourite day of the year)
10. I am who You say I am
Sometimes words will be spoken over you and they can sometimes be negative but the only words that matter are the words that God speaks over you. In the words of Lauren Daigle, 'You say I am loved, when I can't feel a thing, You say I am strong when I think I am weak'
11. East to West is an immeasurable distance
If you keep walking north, you'll eventually start walking south but if you keep walking east, you'll never stop walking east. That means that in the Bible when it says in Psalm 103:12 'as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.' That our sins are completely stripped from us, there is no way to get them back.
12. Niall Horan is the best member of One Direction
I say this as someone who was a hardcore Harry Styles fan from the ages of 12-15. It's taken me a long time to accept but Flicker was the best album of 2017 and that is all. (Harry's still a close second though)
13. Copenhagen is the city of dreams
If you've known me for any length of time, you'll probably know that I am obsessed with the city of Copenhagen and I highly recommend that everyone visit it at least once in their life. It truly is my most special place.
14. Take baby steps
1. Smile
You've all probably heard the saying that smiling burns more calories than frowning. In theory, it probably doesn't but smiling is always a good thing to do.
2. Hamilton is worth the hype
That's all I have to say on this subject but if you get the chance to go and see this show DO IT!
3. Più bello della vita non c'è niente
It may be a line from one of my absolute all-time favourite songs (La Vita by Il Volo) but it's also been my life motto since 2016, It translates from Italian as 'There is nothing that is more beautiful than life' and even though life can suck sometimes, that's a truth universally acknowledged but even in the low moments life is still beautiful and it's important to enjoy every little bit of it.
4. You will grow
Sometimes people ask me why I still have all my old Instagram photos still on my feed but I love scrolling through to see how far my content has come in the past (insert number) here. If you're not at the point that you want to be at now, whether it's physically, mentally or creatively you won't stay at that point forever you'll grow and develop and someday you'll be able to look back at what you used to be and where you are now and be excited for all that's still to come because we never stop growing.
5. Passion is power
BE PASSIONATE, that is my biggest thing. If you have nothing to be passionate about you must have a very boring life. I'm at the extreme end of the passion spectrum though and will get very very passionate about things very very quickly but what's the point in liking things casually?
6. Freedom is a gift
I know where every country in the world is on a map and it's a skill that I am very very proud of. In some countries, they don't have the same freedoms that we have here and it's important to remember that so many of the things that we take for granted are punishable by death in many countries and people undergo things that we couldn't even imagine on a daily basis. (Check out the World Watch List from Open Doors)
7. Not for a minute was I forsaken
In Deuteronomy 31:6 it says 'Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you'. Not forsaken was the truth I spoke over my life in 2018. No matter how far we wander from God, He will never forsake us, no matter what's going on in our lives, He will never forsake us. My favourite worship song of all time is 'Here Again' by Elevation Worship and just getting to declare 'Not for a minute was I forsaken, the Lord is in this place', just always brings me so much joy and peace and comfort. It's the anthem I choose to sing over my life.
8. Life's too short to keep hating Eurovision
This is a PSA to inform you that the Eurovision Song Contest is more than just a trashy europop festival and deserves credit and respect in the music industry please and thank you. Honestly so many great songs and artists come out of the whole Eurovision scene every single year and so many people miss out on it because of the universal bandwagon of Eurovision bashing and I'm not about it. (This has absolutely nothing to do with the final of the Eurovision Song Contest being my favourite day of the year)
10. I am who You say I am
Sometimes words will be spoken over you and they can sometimes be negative but the only words that matter are the words that God speaks over you. In the words of Lauren Daigle, 'You say I am loved, when I can't feel a thing, You say I am strong when I think I am weak'
11. East to West is an immeasurable distance
If you keep walking north, you'll eventually start walking south but if you keep walking east, you'll never stop walking east. That means that in the Bible when it says in Psalm 103:12 'as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.' That our sins are completely stripped from us, there is no way to get them back.
12. Niall Horan is the best member of One Direction
I say this as someone who was a hardcore Harry Styles fan from the ages of 12-15. It's taken me a long time to accept but Flicker was the best album of 2017 and that is all. (Harry's still a close second though)
13. Copenhagen is the city of dreams
If you've known me for any length of time, you'll probably know that I am obsessed with the city of Copenhagen and I highly recommend that everyone visit it at least once in their life. It truly is my most special place.
14. Take baby steps
You can dream big, but realistically you're not going to get exactly what you want straight away, it takes time. Start by setting smaller goals before aiming for the overarching picture. Do the same with prayer, if you're finding your big prayers just aren't having the outcome you want, try starting with a smaller building block prayer.
15. Academic results aren't the most important thing in the world
If you're stressing about exams and results, just take a deep breath. Am I saying that you shouldn't work hard to achieve the grades that you want, absolutely not, but if you don't end up with the grades that you were expecting or needed to get into the course you wanted etc. it's okay. I didn't get the grades I needed and at the time it sucked but looking back on it, it was the best thing that could have happened because it led me on a different path that was definitely the best thing for me at that time.
16. Take care of yourself
While putting others needs first is a great thing to do, you have to be very careful to strike a happy medium, make sure that your needs don't get pushed under the rug while you're trying to keep other people happy. As an enneagram type 9 this is something that I definitely struggle with (I once ate ramen with chopsticks in Wagamama because I didn't want to ask for cutlery and you think I'm kidding) and it's definitely one of my goals this coming year to be more assertive in my opinions and take charge of what I want to do more often.
17. Pursue what brings you joy
Without sounding too much like Marie Kondo, the things that bring us joy should be at the forefront of our lives. I was asked recently where I find my joy and it will be different for different people, some people will like being with people, some people on their own, some people inside, some people outside. Whatever it is that brings you joy, pursue it.
18. You can't be good at everything
I'm the kind of person who likes to do everything but then gets annoyed whenever someone is better than me at something, in my case I am horrendous at anything sports related, I have no hand-eye coordination (which is weird for someone who can dance I guess) but give me something musical I can do it, I am woeful at art but photography I can do. It's a weird thing but work on the skills and talents you know you have and don't stress too much about the ones that you can't do.
19. English isn't the only language
In school, we were very lucky to be able to learn 3 languages and introduced to language at a young age. I wasn't great at languages in school (I actually think I got worse as I progressed rather than better) but after I left school I picked up Italian and loved it a lot more because I was learning it for me and not just to pass an exam. Also, the music industry in other countries is also thriving and just because you can't understand the words to a song doesn't make it a bad song.
20. Hate doesn't come from religion
Plucked this straight out of the mouth of Sana Bakkoush in Skam but it's true. So often you see religion getting bad press because of things but true religion is about love and acceptance. If we are to love as Jesus loves, we're called to love all people, even people we don't agree with or people who live very differently to us. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God and it's only through Jesus that we are made whole so who are we to judge others when the Bible specifically says the opposite.
21. I have so much still to learn
I may have learned a lot in the past 21 years but I know that there is so much more still to learn and I can't wait to see what these next 21 years will bring!
Without sounding too much like Marie Kondo, the things that bring us joy should be at the forefront of our lives. I was asked recently where I find my joy and it will be different for different people, some people will like being with people, some people on their own, some people inside, some people outside. Whatever it is that brings you joy, pursue it.
18. You can't be good at everything
I'm the kind of person who likes to do everything but then gets annoyed whenever someone is better than me at something, in my case I am horrendous at anything sports related, I have no hand-eye coordination (which is weird for someone who can dance I guess) but give me something musical I can do it, I am woeful at art but photography I can do. It's a weird thing but work on the skills and talents you know you have and don't stress too much about the ones that you can't do.
19. English isn't the only language
In school, we were very lucky to be able to learn 3 languages and introduced to language at a young age. I wasn't great at languages in school (I actually think I got worse as I progressed rather than better) but after I left school I picked up Italian and loved it a lot more because I was learning it for me and not just to pass an exam. Also, the music industry in other countries is also thriving and just because you can't understand the words to a song doesn't make it a bad song.
20. Hate doesn't come from religion
Plucked this straight out of the mouth of Sana Bakkoush in Skam but it's true. So often you see religion getting bad press because of things but true religion is about love and acceptance. If we are to love as Jesus loves, we're called to love all people, even people we don't agree with or people who live very differently to us. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God and it's only through Jesus that we are made whole so who are we to judge others when the Bible specifically says the opposite.
21. I have so much still to learn
I may have learned a lot in the past 21 years but I know that there is so much more still to learn and I can't wait to see what these next 21 years will bring!
