I recall being this young stubborn child (and no, I haven’t lost that stubborness with age!) that wanted to do everything I desired whenever I pleased. It infuriated me when my parents used to say no. All I wanted was to be a grown up in that moment and do whatever I wanted to do without asking for anybody’s permission. How naive and innocent we are as children! I wish I could go back to my little self and tell her to shut the hell up and enjoy being a kid because being an adult isn’t all that it’s hyped up to be. It’s beautiful most of the time yet can be equally painful and difficult at other times.

Things no one tells you about growing up:

You’re going to spend a lot of time trying to figure yourself out. Especially in your 20s as you shift from adolescence and school days and into the “real world”. You’ll try to find your place in this hectic fast paced world.

Life is hard. Some things will be very difficult and you won’t understand why. You’ll think the universe is out to get you but in fact you’re no victim, this is simply how life goes. It’s a roller coaster ride and you never know when you’re going up or about to go down.

Some people won’t like you and you’ll never understand why. And it’s ok. Screw them, it’s their loss in the end.

People and friends will disappoint you. So many people will fail to be there for you when you need them most. You’ll constantly be doing a clean up and de-cluttering of people in your life.

You’ll change friends, gain new ones and sometimes painfully lose others. Back to the point above. On the bright side, you’ll often be meeting and making new friends, some that’ll last a lifetime and will be more precious to you than you can imagine.

You’ll fall madly in love, probably more than once. It’ll be beautiful and all consuming.

You’ll get your heart broken, and it’ll hurt like a b&$ch. You’ll feel like your arm’s been ripped off and you can’t possibly survive a day without the other person.

You’ll make many mistakes. Whether at work, with friends, in relationships, or with your family. And it’s ok. We’re all human after all. And hopefully you’ll learn from these mistakes.

You’ll have some regrets. You’ll look back at some actions and wish you had reacted or done something differently. You’ll have to live with those regrets and simply learn to move on.

Your health will become a priority. How foolish we are when we’re young and think we’ll probably live forever. As you get older your back starts to hurt, you get migraines, and doctor appointments become more frequent. Getting old sucks. That’s when you realize you only get one body and you need to take care of it with utmost care.

You’ll realize how wonderful your parents are after leaving home and making it into the world on your own. You’ll appreciate everything they’ve done for you, all the sweat they put into raising you into the bright strong individual that you are.

Nothing lasts forever. Enjoy and savour every single moment of your life.