38 Life Lessons

If we could learn every life lesson from books, I would have learned these much sooner.  But, like most things, we have to learn them ourselves.  These are for you Z & X, with the hope that you can learn some of them from me, but understand that I am still learning some of them, and some of them will just have to be learned the hard way.  Forgive yourself your mistakes, let others make theirs, and learn from both.  

1.  People, like books, shouldn't be judged by their covers, and have multiple interpretations.
2.  Spend time with people who make you think, and laugh.
3.  Real friends are hard to come by; keep them once you find them.
4.  True love takes hard work whether it is love at first sight or not.
5.  Value and support are reciprocal.
6.  Kindness is not the same as being nice.
7.  You can only change yourself.
8.  Our humanity is enough to respect one another.
9.  Get out of the box you make for yourself.
10. Change is scary and painful, but from it comes something worthy of the hardship.
11. Being a parent means letting go, not holding on.

12. Grief changes the color of your heart; you get to choose which color.
13. Sometimes there are not words.
14. Being an adult isn't a noun, it's a verb; practice adulting only when necessary.
15. Your innocence is still there; look through it once in awhile.
16. If you make a mistake, fess up and accept the consequences.
17. Keeping your mistakes to yourself means accepting the guilt instead.
18. Be wary but don't judge.
19. With any privilege comes the challenge to recognize it and pass it on.
20. Keep secrets given to you and promises you make.
21. Ask if it's wanted before giving advice.
22. Use your body while you can to dance, to get outside, and to see the world.

23. Eat fruits and vegetables and grow them in your own spot of dirt.
24. Enjoy your treats.
25. Confidence is true beauty gained through accepting  your unique self.
26. Although words can hurt, you can choose whether or not to believe them.
27. Anger and hate in the moment destroy possibility and love in the future.
28. Know the meaning of integrity and live with it.
29. Life is a complex balance of what to accept and what to let go.
30. Fails offer the best lessons even if they're the hardest to learn.
31. Real-life heroes never get the recognition they deserve, so thank them.
32. One of a group, does not represent all--read beyond the lines of the "single story."

33. Never hide from empathy either in giving or taking.
34. Sit still in solitude and do nothing.
35. Build your home of love and shenanigans not objects and expectations.
36. Be as considerate to those you live with as those you don't.
37. Live your passion to change the world for the better.
​38. Know that you will never know it all--keep learning.