25 Things I Learned By The Age of 25

Technically, I won't be 25 for another twelve hours, but officially it's been my birthday for an hour and forty minutes. I don't feel much wiser yet, although I do have a strange urge to yell at the damn kids mucking about in my garden (despite the fact that I don't have a garden and there are no kids). I feel like I haven't learned much thus far in life. But in case anyone wants to know my pearls of wisdom, here are 25 things I've learned before turning 25:

1) Avoiding thinking about a problem doesn't make it go away.
2) Don't buy clothes that are slightly ill-fitting, or slightly broken, or slightly weird, on the grounds that "oh, but it's *almost* perfect!" You will never wear them. Ever.
3) Make your bed every day. It will make you feel approximately 20% more like a successful person.
4) Be aware and honest about your weaknesses.
5) Remember that being aware and honest about your weaknesses isn't the same thing as working on them.
6) Discovery brand guacamole is terrible.
7) Don't turn down opportunities just out of fear they won't pan out as well as you hope.
8) It's okay to not look perfect every day.
9) If you heat leftover pizza in a frying pan, it gives the crust a freshness and crunch. Microwaves are rarely the best option for reheating.
10) It's not the end of the world if you're not good at something right away. Not being good at something and persisting anyway is called discipline. You need more of it.
11) Walking is nice, and healthy, and cheap. Walk everywhere.
12) Putting effort into organising yourself well is the best way to achieve your goals.
13) You will not achieve all your goals. That's okay, some of your goals are stupid. You are not going to design the world's first personal mini-submarine.
14) Write as much as possible, even if you're not planning on showing it to anyone.
15) People are too busy worrying about how they look to other people to think too much about how you look to them.
16) Showing a little bit of extra appreciation to someone, or paying them a compliment, can really make their day.
17) Always carry mints.
18) If you know you're going to regret something, but think about doing it anyway, maybe don't do that thing. I am surprised this something it took several years to learn but apparently it did.
19) Trying new things will (mostly) not kill you.
20) Learn languages, and then maintain them. You will lose them faster than you think.
21) Water parks are actually fun and not that terrifying.
22) The best day to do something is the day you decide to do it. I actually got this one from a Japanese t-shirt.
23) You can get a lot of useful life advice from Japanese t-shirts.
24) A few people are awful. A few people are the nicest, most genuine, wonderful people. Most people are all right.
25) You are actually all right.