5 Things I Wish I Knew Before 20

Having recently turned 20, I reflected on many things that I have done wrong in the past or things that I should have improved more upon. To be honest, turning 20 was a super scary experience for me. It signified my first step into actualizing growing up and becoming an adult in this modern world.

Although I pretty much appreciate the life that I have right now, these five pieces of advice are something that I wish I knew before turning 20.

1. Money won’t make you happy.

Growing up in the Philippines, young people are always encouraged to earn more money to become stable in the future and enjoy life altogether. While this is true and that money can provide us with financial stability and happiness to some degree, it’s not permanent.

Think about it, when you earn money and buy these things you like, you get happy for some time, but eventually, everything goes back to normal.

2.Focus on the things you love doing.

Pursuing dreams is frowned upon here in the Philippines because it results in low-earning jobs most of the time. I have been brainwashed by this too, brainwashed from the idea that life is for practical things; nothing could be further from the truth.

Life is supposed to be lived for our happiness; choose what you love doing and are happy doing.

3. Try out new things.

Staying in our safety bubble is for sure a very comforting place to be in, far from trouble, far from uncertainty.

But life is not about being the safest person in the world, we all die eventually, one way or another, and you’d much rather go to your deathbed saying, "I’ve done this", and "I’ve done that", than regretting the life you lived and saying “ I wish I could have done this” or “I wish I could have done that”

4. Don’t disregard small steps.

Small steps are, well, small, but that does not mean they are insignificant. Small steps are all it takes to create something significant long-term.

Think about the Eiffel Tower, you think engineers built that thing in a day? It took two years to build the iconic structure in Paris; that’s a lot of small baby steps.

5. Don’t be easily discouraged.

Tough challenges and hurdles will always be present in life. They are the things that will make us stronger and be more confident when facing them in the future.

It’s up to you if you want to meet them head-on or constantly run away from them and allow them to haunt you for the rest of your life.

How about you? What tips or advice would you give to your former self?