As we grow older, we have a way of becoming busier. This is just the natural way of life. We have more ideas, more goals and more people with which to spend time. Along with growing older and wiser, we also have a way of forgetting some of the most important things in life. Now in my early twenties, I have learned a lot. I want to share some of the most important lessons life has taught me thus far.

Don’t Lose Touch with Who You Are

As we meet new people and have new experiences, we evolve emotionally, mentally and spiritually throughout life. Although this evolution makes life better as we get older, there are times we get caught up in a new lifestyle. We may forget who we are… not our likes and dislikes, but who our inner core tells us we are. Never sacrifice your beliefs, passions and loves for any job, person or situation. Yes, we evolve and learn new things, but that doesn’t mean we need to change who we are deep down to please people or fill a role.

It’s Okay to Go Home Again

For some, going home means listening to nagging parents or feeling like a kid again. It can take us back to a place we may want to lose touch with or people we may want to forget about. But home can also bring us back to center. I recently heard a quote that read, “Before you get where you’re going, remember where you come from.” Good or bad, our past defines who we are right now. We are all striving to be better, and maybe something or someone at home has affected us and has shaped who we are today. I personally have been spending a lot more time at home now than ever before. I know that it can bring me back to planet earth if I ever become overwhelmed or get caught up in the outside world. Home may not be where you grew up. It may be a place or a person that makes you feel humbled and whole again. Whatever or wherever your “home” is, don’t be afraid to go back. You may just learn something new about yourself or get the grounding you really need right before you fly.

It’s Okay Not to Know

Right out of college I had gotten a job I thought I would love. It is what I went to school for and it centered around my passion…or so I thought. It turns out this “dream job” was being organized by a crook who was stealing money from a children’s organization. Not the kind of passion I was hoping for. When that happened, I ended up respectfully leaving the organization. It was a tough decision to leave where I thought I should have been, but morally it was the right thing to do.

A few months later, I am now working a job that is completely different from what I thought I wanted to do. This has forced me to look at myself and rethink what I want to do in life. My passions are still the same, but I am not sure where I will go from here. It was a hard lesson to learn, but an important one: it’s okay not to know what is going to happen two or three years down the road. The plan I thought I had has now turned into this beautiful, and sometimes stressful, journey that is teaching me what I really want out of life and what the important things are.

Life throws a ton of curve balls, but sometimes the mess can really be a blessing in disguise. In my new job, I get to help people in an entirely different way that I never thought of before. This curve ball has taught me that I can withstand hardship and get through tough situations. I now know that I can walk away from something when it is being done in an unloving manner. The curve balls in life give us strength and teach us something that, without them, we may have never known.

Stay tuned for Part II…