A Few Words of “Wisdom” From Yours Truly

A few statistics for you:

I have ¼th  left of my senior year.
1/16th left of my college experience.
And 1/80th left of my school journey.

This is my 20th and final year of school.

Holy crap.

When it comes to lasts, for some reason this is often when revelations start hitting people. At least this is what seems to be the case for me.

I’m going to keep this short, but I’ve learned a few things these last few months that I wanted to share. What follows are just a few personal revelations that I feel serve as good reminders to not only myself, but hopefully to anyone.


1. Your long term goals and dreams may change, and that’s ok. Don’t be too stubborn to realize when this happens and to embrace new or altering dreams.


2. Use people’s names whenever you can. People appreciate feeling valued and by using their first name you take that initial step in making them feel that they matter. Additionally, it helps you to remember too, so pro tip:  use names a lot especially when you first meet and are getting to know new people.


3. Don’t just jump on big life decisions. Analyze them and make sure it’s what you truly want. Anticipate how you will feel - the emotions involved -  months down the road after you’ve made the decision. Regrets suck, plain and simple. Try to avoid them if you can. Easier said than done, I know.


4. Don’t allow FOMO to rule your life. Learn to be content where you currently are. (I’m still working on this one… yup, definitely working on this one.)


5. Don’t give up something you truly love until you actually have to. Cling to it until the very last minute, whatever it may be - people, places, activities, a job, ect. There will be many things in life that you won’t like, so those things that bring you unfathomable joy… why give them up early if you don’t have to?  


6. The extraordinary can be great, but don’t become too caught up with always chasing it. That ordinary thing that is right in front of you can be the most extraordinary thing in the world if you want it to be.


7. Don’t become too preoccupied with the future that you end up missing the present. The present is here; it’s now. It’s what you got directly in front of you. Keep planning, but be in the moment. As the wise turtle Master Oogway from the movie Kung Fu Panda said so well, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” This is one of my all time favorite quotes that I try to live by.


8. In direct relationship to number 7, don’t dwell in the past. Not that you should forget about it, but the past has happened. It’s over. No use thinking about the should’ve, would’ve, could'ves. Move forward and bring what you learned from those past experiences to the next table.
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9. The people make the place. This is one realization I had leading up to my freshman year of college, but it couldn’t be more true. I’ve been reminded of this fact time and time again during the course of the past four years. Whether you’re in the mountains of Switzerland, seeing the Pyramids of Egypt for the first time, working in our Nation’s Capital, or living it up in Fargo, North Dakota, it’s the people who you are with that make an experience memorable. You could be doing the most mundane thing in the world, but if you’re with wonderful people then that boring task could be transformed into one of the best experiences. The opposite can also be true; you could be experiencing the most amazing of things, let’s say climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, but if you’re with people who complain and contribute negative energy then it just might be an awful experience. Point made. ​


10. This last one is a culmination of sorts:

• Do what you love. Be with the people you love. Stop caring what the world thinks. Make yourself happy and the people you love happy. The world will continue to go round and round but you won’t. I hate to break it to ya, but at some to be determined date, you will die. So seize today. Carpe diem. Make yourself happy. Make others happy. Spread joy, kindness, and love. Life’s too short.

Have a wonderful weekend folks. Keep adventuring.

Xxx      - Reyna ​