12 Lessons Learned in the Last Year

As I approach my 19th birthday this weekend, I’ve been taking time to reflect on the past year.

Since my 18th birthday I’ve graduated high school, been to North Carolina twice, went to Hubspot’s INBOUND in Boston, co-founded Kenosha Startup Week, spoke at my first conference, and started saving for retirement. All of which (with the exception of graduating) came as a surprise.

These all provided opportunities for growth and learning as well.

I’ve learned a lot in the past year, but these are my biggest takeaways for the year.

-Say yes now. Figure out how to deliver later.
-It’s okay to say no.
-In theory, texting is faster, but phone calls enable better communication every time.
-There is a lot of energy to be gained from spending time with people who care about the same thing you do.
-It’s easy enough to stop talking to a stranger when they don’t show an interest, so go ahead and strike up a conversation. There’s far more to be gained than lost.
-Finances are complicated, but exciting — be aware of your situation and your options.
-Your best friends won’t always be 15 minutes away, but that doesn’t mean you won’t still be best friends.
-If you find something you care about, keep doing it.
-You’ll eventually get to a point where you aren’t faking it anymore. (But until that keep faking it. Almost everyone else is, anyway.
-Criticism isn’t an attack, but an opportunity for growth.
-Exercise and sunshine can change your life.
-Pulling all-nighters comes with a price. (and it’s high!) You need sleep.

Here’s to another 12 months of fucking up and (hopefully) learning from it.