on twenty-five lessons...
I know, I know. I'm not exactly twenty-five yet (two days away!) but I've had this post floating around in my head for the last few days (and didn't know if I'd have time to post it on my actual birthday). As I usually am around this time each year, I've been busy looking back on what I've done and accomplished and lived up until this point. And as scary as being halfway through my twenties was starting to sound, I think I'm okay with it now. I'm beginning to like the idea of it, actually.
So, here it is! A list of twenty-five lessons I've learned thus far in life:
1. Your family will always be your family no matter how many miles are between you, sisters are some of the greatest inventions ever, and there's something about a hug from your parents that will always feel like home.
2. No matter how old you get, it always feels good to use your imagination. And nobody should ever make you feel bad about that. (Unless if you insist on channeling Harriet the Spy on a daily basis, because that's never a good idea.)
3. Hurtful comments, the number on the scale, fashion magazines and ex-boyfriend's Facebook pages are things that should be paid much less attention to in life. As important or interesting as they seem at the moment, they really aren't as important or interesting as you think. I promise.
4. You never know when and where you'll meet the people who end up being the most important. So, be friendly. And smile a lot.
5. It's okay to be a "good girl".
6. Don't always try so hard to blend in, that you lose what makes you who you are. If you are is a girl who would rather stay in, then stay in. If you aren't a cutting-edge fashionista, it doesn't mean you have no style of your own. If your idea of a fun night involves Scrabble, reality television and sitting around in your pajamas, then do it. Embrace it. You'll learn that people will respect you for that.
7. It is always a good time for wine.
8. You're never too old for stuffed animals. (You may reach a point where you shove them under your bed when people come over, but still. They matter.)
9. Treat people with respect, encouragement and an open heart. It's not always easy, but at least you'll know you made the effort.
10. It's true what they say about finding the person you will spend the rest of your life with. You just...know. With every inch of your being. And even on the bad days, you still feel it at your core - and that's what matters most.
11. Anything is better with copious amounts of cheese.
12. You're braver than you think.
13. You don't need to wear high-heels and lipstick to be sexy. Some of the sexiest people I know have a simplicity and purity about them that is more than anything you'll find on the cover of a magazine.
14. First kisses are absolutely amazing - but so is realizing you're with the one who will receive your last kisses, and all the rest that fill the in-between.
15. It's completely acceptable to buy yourself a present every now and then, make pasta after midnight, jump up and down on hotel beds, have a good cry when you need it, and still be in love with Taylor Hanson, thirteen years later.
16. Macaroni and cheese always tastes better re-heated the next day.
17. It's so incredibly important to surround yourself with people who have the ability to bring out the best in you. The ones who inspire you, encourage you, help keep your head on straight, give you a shoulder to cry on. These are the ones that matter. Anyone who doesn't bring out the best in you, perhaps isn't the best for you.
18. Never run through someone else's yard at a high speed without first checking for barbed-wire fences.
19. Learn to enjoy your own company.
20. Make time for what it is you love to do. Even when you feel like you don't have enough time. It is always worth it.
21. You're probably prettier than you think, admired by more people that you realize, and smarter than you give yourself credit for.
22. Don't ever go out with the intent of getting drunk, because you may just end up spilling every secret you've ever had (even ones you didn't know existed), curled up asleep in someone's hallway, chasing wild bunnies on a college campus, or, at the very least, un-tagging yourself from a bunch of Facebook photos.
23. There will always be something about Disneyland fireworks that make you feel like you're eight years old. (And maybe make you cry a little, too. Which is just fine.)
24. Being married to your best friend is better than any wildly romantic fairy tale anyone could dream up. There's something about being with someone who can always make you laugh, who you can be crazy with, who you can be honest with, who you know will always be there to say, "I love you more than you'll ever know."
25. Everyone has their time to shine. Even if yours hasn't come yet, even if you feel incredibly unimportant or invisible - there is a time that you will be seen, you will be admired, and you will shine.
You've learned some very good lessons. More than I did at that age *lol* (not that I am old or anything) There are many, many more good ones to come. Enjoy every bit of it (even when it is hard because I have found character is built & you find out more about YOU).
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday. Hope this year is a brilliant one!
ps I always enjoy your blog, it get me thinkin' :)
I *adore* numbers 6 and 15.
ReplyDeleteI *love* you.
Kerri, happy, happy, HAPPY birthday. You're so sweet, wise and adorable. I hope you have the best day and an amazing 25th year! Your bits of advice are right on.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, lovely girl! Big hugs!
This is beautiful. I completely agree with number 10. : )
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday!
This list is just the bee's knees. The older I get, the better I feel... I'll be 26 in December and I don't mind it one bit! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday {in 2 days}!!
"21. You're probably prettier than you think, admired by more people that you realize, and smarter than you give yourself credit for."
ReplyDeleteThank you for those words. Even though this post is all abut you and your 25 year old goodness, those were words that I really needed to hear today.
And for the record, I love Disneyland fireworks. I do always tear at them. =D
Happy Early Birthday, and have an extremely blessed day.
You write the most amazing posts. I love that you inspire me with words! Happy early Birthday!
ReplyDeleteOh hurrah! Happy Birthday! And that is an awful lot of lovely things to have learnt in your 25 years, you're amazing! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great list. I think I need to print some of these out & past them on my mirror to remember them daily. :]
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I especially love the mac and cheese one. I completely agree!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a lovely post...it actually made me a little teary-eyed. You are so wise and self-aware. It's really refreshing.
ReplyDeleteWishing you the most wonderful birthday!
Beautiful post. Barbed wire, huh? Sounds like an interesting story. Happy birthday girl!
ReplyDeletegosh i really just want to give you a hug right now. this was so incredibly inspiring to me, and just what i needed to hear today.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful list! You always the most amazing things to say. I love it. Happy early birthday!
ReplyDeleteUh, number 18...????!!
ReplyDeleteHappy (early) birthday!!! I especially loved the "good girl" one. SO very true.
ReplyDeletethis one!
ReplyDelete15. It's completely acceptable to buy yourself a present every now and then, make pasta after midnight, jump up and down on hotel beds, have a good cry when you need it, and still be in love with Taylor Hanson, thirteen years later
& this one!
23. There will always be something about Disneyland fireworks that make you feel like you're eight years old. (And maybe make you cry a little, too. Which is just fine.)
oh, & this one!
24. Being married to your best friend is better than any wildly romantic fairy tale anyone could dream up. There's something about being with someone who can always make you laugh, who you can be crazy with, who you can be honest with, who you know will always be there to say, "I love you more than you'll ever know."
i sure do love you, miss kerri! hope you have the happiest of birthdays! love!!
Happy Early Birthday! This list is extremely inspirational. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteloved this. really really loved this!
ReplyDeleteHappy early birthday :)
I LOVE this list idea! I just might have to borrow it for my 21st birthday coming up!
ReplyDeleteHappy early birthday, btw!
Happy early birthday and here's a toast to a great celebration and a thank you for an amazing list! Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThis post is perfect. Happy early birthday, lovely. Miss you!
ReplyDeleteDisneyland fireworks are the best!!
ReplyDeleteAll of these are absolutely true - thanks for posting :)
HAHA #22 made me laugh hysterically because I've totally done that. And then had to do the facebook walk of shame where I sent friend requests and tag request back to the people I'd erased the night before. LOL
ReplyDeleteThis really gets me thinking. I've learned a lot of these lessons myself (I'm 26) and some of them I'm aware of but still working on.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these!
You are too freakin' cute! Happy early 25th Birthday!
ReplyDeleteI love all of those lessons especially the one about cheese, so true!
I like this list :)
ReplyDeleteI could begin to tell how all the numbers I completely agree with... but I'd basically be listing them all. Words cannot express how much I loved this post. It was exactly what I needed to read today.
ReplyDeleteThank you. xo
Wishing you a happy birthday! What a great reflective entry.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED this. I have thought of doing something like this so many times, but sitting down and writing it out often leaves me stumped.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday! I feel like it's so much easier to say 25 than it was to say 24. And I've only been 25 for a little over two months.
Amazing life lessons! They are all so very true, I love this post!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday! :)
yay for 25! enjoy it! i think it's been my best one so far. and i agree. best friend boys are just... the best. :)
ReplyDeletePerfect list Kerri! I hope your birthday is as amazing and wonderful as you are!
ReplyDeleteWas that super duper cheesy?
Oh well! Happy Birthday! :)
I love the ones about being a good girl and it being okay to stay in- I'm so that girl, and while it's fun to run around with the girls, having friends over and nights in with Mister make me so much happier than running around drunk at bars. At 18 I thought I was weird for it, at 19 when Mister and I moved in together I knew I was a nester lol
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Kerri- this will be an amazing year for you, as every year should be!
This is really beautiful. I think the part about being who you are and embracing that is so, so true. And I also agree with the checking to see if there is an electric fence one as well. =)
ReplyDelete#3. So true. So needed to hear that. Also, #1-25 are pretty cool too. ;) I love everything you write!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, and Happy Birthday!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful birthday! I love your blog and this list is exactly what I needed to read this morning :) especially number 3! x
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely post! Full of warm fuzzies!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday for later this week!
Awesome lessons, Kerri. I think ill do a similar one for my 22th birthday next month, probably not as awesome as this though lol would love to have wine with youuu :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday lovely!
ReplyDeleteYour list is as true as true can be!
i totally adore this post, and you. hitting 25 for me, its like a fresh start. this is the OTHER half of my twenties... the BETTER half. :)
ReplyDeletehappy birthday. i hope your day tomorrow is filled with happiness.
xoxo
Happy Early Birthday.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, your blog always makes me feel like I can do anything.
Thank you for inspiring me.
Kerri, my dear, this was beautiful. My comment feels like it's going to get lost in the shuffle of everyone else telling you how wonderful you are, but seriously, you are wonderful. (AND I THOUGHT SO FIRST, PEOPLE.)
ReplyDeleteMy new motto to live by:
21. You're probably prettier than you think, admired by more people that you realize, and smarter than you give yourself credit for.
love love love love love this post. so amazing. so cute. so TRUE.
ReplyDeleteI <3 your blog!!!!
This was such a beautiful list. Seriously beautiful. And totally true about the mac & cheese! I too have cried at Disney World fireworks. What is it about them? Happy Birthday Bella!!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to many of these life lessons particularly the stuffed animals, wine, lots of cheese & embrace yourself sentiments. Happy almost 25th birthday!
ReplyDeleteThis was so great. I love all of your lessons! So inspirational in so many ways. Happy Birthday!! We all love you!
ReplyDeleteThis list is brilliant, I can't think of a better way to celebrate your birthday!!!!
ReplyDelete#16, #23 and #24 are by far my favorite things!!
Here's to a Happy Birthday and another wonderful year.
I liked number 14, So sweet and true!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday!
What a fantabulous list of lessons. Very inspiring. Happy Birthday to you!
ReplyDeleteYour writing is simply amazing! I love this list! Especially 5, 11, 23, and 24. :)
ReplyDeletekerri i love this post!! yay for your birthday and being 25 on the 25th (it just sounds cooler that way, haha). and i totally agree about wine and cheese and mac and cheese and everything else. basically i adore you and can't wait to hang out again. the end.
ReplyDeleteThat was an absolutely amazing post Kerri! You have truly shown what you have learnt and it was such an inspiring post. It makes me hope that I will be in that same state of mind when I turn 25 (next year eep). I hope you have an absolutely wonderful, fantastic day!!
ReplyDeleteP.S. Watch your post =)
Your introspective posts are my favorite. As are numbers 7 & 11 :)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely ADORE this. As someone who turns 25 in less than a month (!!!), this really makes me think about some of the lessons I've learned throughout the years.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, lovely lady!
Happy Early Birthday!!! I loved this post:):) Hope your 25th is amazing:)
ReplyDeleteLove it! Happy Birthday :)
ReplyDeleteYou are one amazingly inspiring person. I can feel myself slipping today and this list really lifted me up. We all just have to hang in there and be as positive as possible.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful and thoughtful post. You are very right about staying away from ex boyfriends' facebook pages. But the leftover mac and cheese being better? Gonna have to fight you on that one. Oh, wait... I don't think "leftover" mac and cheese exists in my house. We inhale it in mere minutes.
ReplyDeleteI really, really love this. Such great lessons, all of them.
ReplyDeleteReading this makes me sad that I never did the "turning-25" post I had planned. I blame it on the fact that I was 7 months pregnant and quite lazy and tired when I had my birthday. But still, I wish I would have done it.
So glad you WEREN'T lazy and wrote such a beautiful one, it was lovely to read!
I am such a horrible bloggy friend. I can't believe I missed your birthday :( Just shoot me now, be done with me, completely and totally de-friend me. *sigh* I owe you a bottle of wine and some taquitos whenever we meet.
ReplyDeleteI love this, especially number 11! How true! xx
ReplyDeleteI think I might need to print this out and hang it on my fridge. so many spoke right to me.
ReplyDeletehappy (belated) birthday!
11 & 24 are so cute! I can identify with both... and everything else pretty much. Great post!
ReplyDeleteIt's always nice to reflect back on what you've accomplished and learned along the way. :)
Wow! What a great idea (and list!). I definitely know what you mean about the fireworks... I work at Disneyland and everytime I watch them it's like I've never seen them before. So magical! :]
ReplyDelete