30 Lessons for 20-year-old Me
They want me to fear a big age, but I know too much. And nothing at all.
Commercial interests are invested in me fearing a big age, but moving quickly past my three decade milestone on Earth has me feeling warm and full. Of course, there's been a small part of me that worries I left something on the table in my 20s. Maybe there was more life to live. Maybe there was more to do or try.
Then, I wrote this list. I thought about my 20-year-old self and wrote 30 lessons I wish I could share with her. I used to be embarrassed by the younger version of myself who didn't know things — and more embarrassed by when she thought she did. Now, if I see anything clearly, it's that you don't know things until you do, and if you're anything like me, sometimes the lesson doesn't take on the first try.
If I could, I would transmit these lessons straight into my 20-year-old body in hope she avoids pain and struggle. Of course, that's not how it works, and some of these lessons arrived to me like library books, loaned to me but sitting on my shelf, overdue and unopened for too long.
Over the last decade, I have opened each one, but rest assured, I'm still reading. In case you are too, welcome.
