Goodbye, 19, you have been good to me :)

As I embark on the last 24 hours of my teenage years, and prepare to bid adieu to 19 (a year in which I learned so much!) I thought I'd share some of my most important life lessons (thus far :) ):


1. Don't be afraid to be vulnerable.  You are so much more receptive to life when you are vulnerable.  Vulnerability opens your heart up to love and teaches you so much about yourself and others.  Don't waste your time and energy being too proud to be vulnerable.

2. It's healthy and recommendable to embarrass yourself at least once a day... it teaches you to be brave and take yourself (and life) a little less seriously

3. You do not need to be perfect in order to be loved.  The things we'd like to change the most about ourselves are what make us unique, so don't apologize for your imperfections.

4. Similarly, a weakness is not something you necessarily need to change or get over.  It's just a strength that needs to have some light and truth shed upon it to reveal its potential.

5. Cultivating gratitude may just be the most important thing in life.  Don't go a single day without finding at least 3 things you are grateful for and on a bad day find 8.

6. Even in your weakest moments, you are never given more than you can handle - and no prayer goes unanswered.

7. Struggling is not a sign of failure or even weakness, it's a sign of growth

8.  Never let yourself become jaded.  Hold on to your dreams, because they hold the key to how you will change the world - in other words, they hold the key to true joy.

9.  There are few things better than putting a smile on someone's face.  And don't be selfish with your own.

10. And of course, the one facet of truth from which the other ones have come:  You are enough.  You are doing enough.  And in fact, you have always been and always will be enough :)