Things I Wish I'd Known

  • I don't need to try to please everybody. As valiant and commendable of an effort as one can make, it is impossible to make everybody happy. While happiness can ensue via acts of service for others, I've come to realize that it also has to be actively pursued by asking myself what I want. 
  • A good relationship with my parents is just as important as a good relationship with anybody else. In middle school, I began to "rebel", and in doing so, I of course often upset my parents, and began to communicate with them less and less about my daily goings-on. Meanwhile, I began to develop deep relationships with friends and later romantic relationships with boy(s). A part of me thought that it was a trade-off--either relationship with my parents or relationships with my friends. And I made a choice. But really, there was truly no reason it couldn't have been both. 
  • Not every relationship (the general sense of the word, not just the romantic sense) needs to stay a relationship. Similarly, not everybody I meet is meant to stay in my life. There have been numerous relationships that I have held on to for the sake of holding on, or for the sake of simply not having to deal with letting go. I haven't quite figured out the psychology behind my reluctance to let go of people, but I have learned to do so here and there in the past couple of years, and for the most part, it's been good for my mental well-being.
  • Take the plunge. Embrace the risk. There are so many activities and so much fun that I missed out on by being a scaredy-cat and by overthinking/ rethinking/ overanalyzing danger and risk. It's okay to just take the leap every once in a while. For example, bungee jumping--if millions of people have already done it and come out alive, I probably could do it and come out alive too. Just do it!
  • On a related note: just because diabetes, doesn't mean... I used to think that having diabetes meant there were many things I couldn't do. NOT THE CASE. I could have done most everything all the other kids were doing, just with more caution. I spent the first 17 years of my life fearfully shying away from physical activities, but no more of that! In fact, I have a half marathon in Washington, D.C. this weekend, and then nine more over the course of the year. Additionally, just because I have diabetes, doesn't mean that nobody will love me. Growing up, I constantly worried that because I had to do finger pricking and needle injections and bloody stuff, nobody would want to be with me. But I have experienced that diabetes does not change how anybody sees or feels about me. More on this in a future post. 
  • There are bigger issues in the world. Spend less time being angry at the inconsequential things and more time appreciating everything else. Believe it or not, I used to have a really short temper. I was easily set off and angered, and I knew it, and I wasn't proud of it. Looking back, I wasted far too much time being angry at people, at the world, and at myself generally for no good reason, and I lost sight of the people and things around me to be good to and to appreciate. 

Comments

Dan said…
This is fucking great
March 7, 2018 at 11:13 PM
Unknown said…
Truly insightful and a great read
March 21, 2018 at 1:01 AM
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