When you look back at your life, you should see massive growth. I know I do. The last 10 years have been a wild ride and I wish I knew certain things back then that I do now.

Transitioning from college life to adult life was HARD. I remember how upset I was that I had to move back home and “follow the rules” since I was under my mother’s roof again. I didn’t have classes to attend in the morning or field hockey practice to attend in the afternoon. I just had a job that I couldn’t be late for and a new life which I wasn’t too fond of. 

Don’t get me wrong, my life wasn’t as “hard” as I make it out to be. I had a roof over my head, food to eat, and a family who loves me. But, mentally and emotionally, I was a mess. It was just the disaster-thinking mindset that ruled my life. Borderline depression, anxiety, and fear of the unknown definitely came into play regularly because I didn’t have the daily routine I created myself with a level of freedom that I had in college. 

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Now, if I could go back in time to when I graduated in 2007, I would tell myself these 10 things:

1. Take care of your body, your soul, and your mind.
   
2. Life is nothing like college, but you’ll survive.
   
3. Living in the real world is going to be a complete reality check.
   
4. Working a 9-5 isn’t the worst thing in the world.
   
5. You may have thought you had your shit together, but you don’t (and it’s totally okay because no one really does).
   
6. Your body is not going to be able to break down all of that crazy food and alcohol you used to drink the same way.
   
7. You may not land your dream job right out of college, but every job you have will teach you something you didn’t know before.
   
8. You will start to lose touch with many of your friends from high school and college because everyone is starting to grow up, get married, have babies, and may need to move across the country for work. You will understand because you’ll be going through this too.
   
9. Follow your intuition and trust yourself above anything else.
   
10. Set up solid boundaries with yourself and within every single one of your relationships because people are going to try and walk all over you and you’ll let them without even realizing it.
    

As I sit here and write this blog post at 32, I am at peace with everything that has happened in the last 10 years. Hell, within the last 2 years, I have hit rock bottom and found the courage and hope to rise again because I found the power within myself to change my life for the better. 

I will say this… I am a firm believer in the saying, “Everything happens for a reason,” and every lesson and challenge shows up in your life to teach you something about yourself and/or others around you. It’s all part of the process and you need to learn to trust that everything happens for a reason.

I’d love to know how your life has changed in the past 10 years. Comment below with your lessons, advice, and any other knowledge you’ve gained. 

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This post includes affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate disclosure.