At one point in my life I was learning how to walk and just the other day I learnt how to drive. Thats how fast time flies. “Welcome to the Second Floor of Life” someone told me today and thats when it really hit me what turning 20 really means, More Responsibilities, More Expectations, even one year closer to marriage😂. I expected to feel quite different, I mean from 19 to 20 years is really a big step. But I guess that is not how Life works, Right?😅

In the 20 years I’ve lived on this Earth, I have learnt a lot of things and thought I would share some:

1. Put God First – GOD is the only constant friend in life. HE has a perfect and purpose filled plan for our lives. Trust and obey him “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

2. Forget the past but Remember the lessons – I heard this on Joel Osteen’s sermon called ‘Don’t Waste Your Pain’ this year and it has been a great addition to my life lessons. Most times we let our past define us, not only the bad experiences but also the good ones. Past success may hinder us from aiming higher in future. Forget all that but don’t forget the impact they had and the lessons learnt.

3. Faith it till you make it – In a generation where faking it till you make it is the trend, Having faith is actually better. Jesus said in Mark 9:23, “Everything is possible for one who believes”. Believe, Pray, Wait

4. Travel More – Being a person who doesn’t really like travelling I have come to discover that travel is the only thing you “buy”, that makes you richer, its far much better than spending money to buy things. I plan to travel more and maybe even have a travel section on my blog🤔

5. Live One day At a Time – Plan ahead but also don’t worry too much about the future. Live everyday in the best way you can and then tomorrow, well tomorrow just leave it to GOD. (Matthew 6:34)

6. Family is Life – Spend most of your time with Family and also with the friends who have become like family. Love and Laughter is brewed from such connections.

7. Forgiveness is the key to freedom. –

“Some say its too hard to forgive, but I say its too hard not to”

Lyrics from Too hard not to by Tina Campbell.

Forgive, forgive, forgive and then forgive some more, even when people have not asked for forgiveness. There is a special type of peace that comes when people let go. Also, apologize when you’re wrong. Apologies cost you nothing and normally solve everything. Above all, ask for forgiveness from GOD.

8. Friends – Some people are placed in our lives to impact us only for a short time and others are meant to be there forever. You will drift apart with friends, and thats fine I mean we are all growing old and are in different universities, different careers have busy lives among others. However, you have to be intentional about maintaining your friendships. Make time for the friends who are genuine but also pay close attention to those who don’t clap when you win. Shake those off, life is too short to spend time with such people.

9. You don’t always get what you want, but You always get what you need – We serve a Supernatural Gracious GOD who knows what we need even before we ask and sometimes the things that we really pray for are not what we really need, we just want them maybe because other people have them. Letting HIS will be done in our lives will help us that even when we don’t get what we are really praying for, we know that GOD has our best interests at heart.

10. The world is for the risk takers – The first person on the moon wasnt 100% sure that it was possible, But he did it anyway. The wright brothers took risks and now we have planes. You may not know what is going to happen when you try, but if you don’t try nothing is going to happen. In this life, you have to be willing to take risks,(worthwhile risks). If it works out, Well and Good, if it doesn’t, thats a lesson learnt. Many people are even married to the Partners of their dreams because they took risks, So when you see your “Crush” tomorrow, take that risk😂

11. Greatness takes time – Relationships, Careers everything takes time. Some people say it takes 13 hours to build a Toyota but 6 months to build a Rolls Royce. So next time you are impatient and want to give up, remember that. Also, everyone has their own calendar. Just because another person’s career has taken off and yours hasn’t does not mean that it won’t. Just wait and Trust in GOD

12. Life is NOT a rehearsal – You’ve all heard of YOLO right? Well, we have only one life to live. If I had really thought about this in the earlier stages of my teenage life, some mistakes would have been avoided. But I guess it was a learning process for me. Enjoy your youth in the right way, spend more time with your loved ones and even do the things that scare you.

13. You want to do something? Just Start –

“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Zig Ziglar

I used to tell myself that One day I would start a blog but always had uncertainities. Will anyone read it? What will it be about? I finally decided to start and here we are. Just Start, it will all work out in the end.

14. Seek Validation from God ONLY – In our generation, most people seek their validation from social media – the likes, the comments, which only give temporary validation. What GOD says about you is what matters, HE calls you Blessed, HE calls you Awesome and thats what you are, even if social media thinks otherwise

15. Stay Humble – Pride ruins a lot of relationships. No matter what you have accomplished, respect everyone. Humility goes a long way

16. You never stop learning – Whether in school or in life, you will always learn something. Be willing to learn something new, and also share your knowledge with others.

17. You can’t pour from an empty cup – Take care of yourself first, then you will be able to take care of others. You have to love yourself first, before you can love others

18. Say ‘Yes’ more – Some opportunities are just once in a life time. Instead of thinking of all the reasons why you shouldn’t do something, focus on the benefits you would get from it.

19. Stand Out – You don’t have to fit in, It’s okay to be the odd one out. Be yourself, everyone else is already taken

20. It’s actually very hard to remember all the lessons you’ve learnt in life – And this is the lesson I have actually learnt today, on my 20th birthday😂

Share some of the lessons you’ve learnt, Would like to learn something new for this second phase of my life.

Till my next Piece,
Peace.