23 lessons in 23 years
things I've learned and why I'm excited to age
Happy 23rd birthday to me. I was inspired by a post from a mutual friend (23 Lessons in 23 Years), and wanted to jot down my own list of 23 lessons for my future self to smile and laugh about while thinking “Oh Marian, you were so silly.”
PS (Postscript but actually a prescript) I feel bad for some of my subscribers who are waiting for part 2 and 3 of the internship series — I promise they’re coming soon and here is the evidence.
Now for the actual content of this post:
I categorized the lessons roughly for your reading pleasure, and chose not to elaborate on them to confuse you. Enjoy.
23 lessons
concerning other people
Be exceptionally kind to strangers.
Express meaningful thank you’s.
Surround yourself with people that bring you joy.
Give great gifts.
concerning hobbies and activities
Know your why.
Do whatever makes your heart and soul sing.
Keep the momentum and chase inspiration.
When you find something you enjoy doing alone, cherish it.
It is important to be well read.
concerning my physical self
Move everyday while you still can.
Practice awareness of your body and your feelings.
Take care of yourself.
Sleep enough.
Eat mindfully.
concerning work
Work hard. Really hard. Harder than you think you can.
Ask the right questions.
Move fast!
Slow down…
concerning everything else
Don’t neglect the little things.
Cry. Whether it’s about your own life or a fictional one. Cry to remind yourself what it is to feel things deeply.
Some decisions require a lot of thinking. Some don’t.
Approach life on the verge of laughter.
Make lists: to-do lists, grocery lists, book lists, movie lists, travel bucket lists, playlists and… life lessons lists. (Haha)
This list is my current life’s philosophy distilled into 23 statements. It reflects the kind of person I am and a bit of the person I strive to be. It doesn’t have to change, but it might.
I also took this as an opportunity to write down 23 events from the past year, and although that list felt too personal to share publicly, scrolling through photos and reading old journals reminded me how lucky I am to have lived another year — a year full of firsts, of experiences tucked away in shared memories between loved ones. I can’t put this joy of living and aging into words as well as Victor Frankl, so I’ll let him finish it off for me:
The pessimist resembles a man who observes with fear and sadness that his wall calendar, from which he daily tears a sheet, grows thinner with each passing day. On the other hand, the person who attacks the problems of life actively is like a man who removes each successive leaf from his calendar and files it neatly and carefully away with its predecessors, after first having jotted down a few diary notes on the back. He can reflect with pride and joy on all the richness set down in these notes, on all the life he has already lived to the fullest. What will it matter to him if he notices that he is growing old? Has he any reason to envy the young people whom he sees, or wax nostalgic over his own lost youth? What reasons has he to envy a young person? For the possibilities that a young person has, the future which is in store for him? ‘No, thank you,’ he will think. ‘Instead of possibilities, I have realities in my past, not only the reality of work done and of love loved, but of sufferings bravely suffered. These sufferings are even the things of which I am most proud, though these are things which cannot inspire envy.’
Victor Frankl in Man’s Search for Meaning
I have realities in my past. You do, too.
Marian- I love the premise of this piece. Aging should always be welcomed with equal degrees excitement and curiosity. This piece exhibit this with great balance!