What I've Learned in My Twenties

"The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life." ~Muhammad Ali

Linking up with Kelly's Korner!

I've been following along for weeks as Sarah did an amazing series where she asked bloggers the question:  What have you learned in your twenties?  When she announced that she was doing a link up for everyone to chime in with their answers, I knew I had to participate!  Heck, I've done a post about the things I've learned in 2009 and 2011!

So, as a girl on the downhill side of my twenties (deep breath, deep breath, don't hyperventillate thinking about it, Tiffany!), I look back on the last 8.5 years and cannot believe how much I have learned.  I think that I'm a completely different person than I was when I was a 20 year old wide-eyed sophomore at Oklahoma State. 

I also think (or at least hope) that I'm a better person now than I was then.  And that I will carry these lessons with me into the next decades of my life and continue to build upon them.  As good as my twenties have been to me, I fully expect that what is to come will be even better.

I've learned to dream big, to set goals, and to go for it!  I learned that the only thing that limits our dreams and our abilities is ourselves.  I learned that even if a goal seems impossible to reach, if you keep working hard enough, you can achieve it.  I've learned that if I set my mind to something, I can make it happen.  This lesson brought about living in San Franciso for a summer, traveling to Europe, and running a half marathon.

I've learned that my happiness is up to me.  My attitude is something that I am able to choose every day--every minute--and if I make the right choice, life is so much better.  I've learned to be content where I am, and not longing for the past or waiting for the future.  I've learned that I cannot tie my own happiness to someone else.  We have to fight for joy in our lives.

I've learned that being a single twenty-something really is more positive than negative.  My singleness has allowed me to figure out who I am and what I am looking for, and to write letters to my future husband.  It has allowed me to travel the world and do things that I had always dreamed of.  I've toured the Swiss Alps and wondered the streets of Rome at 1:00 am.  I've rushed the field, seen the gold helemts run out of the tunnel and watched my team win a BCS bowl game.  I've snorkeld in the ocean and biked the Golden Gate Bridge and eaten at Tavern on the Green.  I've granted wishes to terminally ill children and registered to save someone's life.  Being single has allowed me the ability to spend my time doing things that are worthwhile and meaningful to me.  My life is full of love. God is still faithful and I am still blessed regardless of whether I have a ring on my left finger.

I've learned that you have to fight for the relationships that are important.  Studies show that this is the time of our lives when we lose friendships.  We are separated by distance and busy building careers and starting families and we just lose touch.  We have to fight for the people who matter to us.  And when we find them, we have to invest the time to keep them.  For me, that means girls' weekends with the Gossip Girls.  And St. Patrick's Day in Chicago with ND Friend.  Surprising SoulMate Friend at a baby shower.  Sitting through 36 hours of labor before my Goddaughter arrived.  Frequent conversations with BFF and never missing a family Thanksgiving dinner.

I've learned that it's okay to just let go, have fun, and not worry about what other people think.  This is quite the lesson for a total type-A perfectionist to learn.  We must sing karaoke like a crazy person in San Francisco.  And dance with the stranger at the pub.  And eat the fru-fru pancakes.  Why not?

I've learned that I am _____ enough.  Whatever word you want to place in the blank.  Smart.  Pretty.  Funny.  Important.  I'm a villa in Tuscany.  When we are younger, we spend so much time trying to fit ourselves into some mold--the popular crowd or the girl on magazine cover or the person on our favorite tv show.  My twenties have convinced me that who I am is good enough, period.

I've learned what a true hero is.  That the true ones are not famous actors or professonal athletes or singers selling out stadiums.  They are the amazing people that I am blessed to have in my own life.  People like real housewives and ag teachers.  My parents.  True  neighbors.  My amazing aunts.  Gran.

I've learned that life is short and precious and that we must live in light of that.  In my twenties, I have said goodbye to some of my favorite people in the world.  I've sat through more funerals in the last 8 years than most people do in a lifetime.  I've given a eulogy and I've carried a casket.  I've seen right in the wrong.  And what I've learned from these experiences is that we have to live our lives right now.  We have to face our fears.  Search out experiences.  Appreciate the time we have.  We have a jump off the diving board.  We have to get to playin'.  And if there is something that we are not happy with in our lives, well it's up to us to make a change.

As I said on my 28th birthday, I continue to realize on pretty much a daily basis that it's hard work becoming the person who I am meant to be, but in the end.....it's going to be so worth it.