Jon

These are the things I have learned from life so far:Mouth the words when you are wearing headphones. People then look at you like you are talking to them. Ride a bike, walk, or do anything but drive whenever you can. Have a love song for each one of your lovers. But never recycle the same songs for different people. It gets confusing. Learn to accept things, like things that just can’t be avoided; death, the ending of a relationship, the good and the bad of the world. Accepting things makes dealing with them so much easier. Learn to let go when the best time is right. Never use drugs, alcohol, or eating greasy food be an escape from anything. Turn those times that you need to escape into a positive experience. Realize what is CONstructive and DEstructive in your life, and pick and choose what you think is best. Burn scented candles. Think of what you would do with a million dollars when you are bored or can’t fall asleep. It makes the time go really fast. Treat yourself when you are down. And justify it to yourself, even if you need to say it out loud. Take a lot of pictures, even if they are bad. And keep them. Save cards from people who really care about you, and take them out when you need a reminder. Never get embarrassed, and laugh at yourself all the time. Slow dance with your significant other whenever you can. Give as many compliments as you can, even if you sound a little ridiculous. You probably will never know how your kind words can affect someone, but they always do. Never rain on anyone’s parade. And be smart enough to know when you potentially might. Make a set sleeping schedule and try not to sleep your life away. However, never take sleep for granted; its free, fun, easy, relaxing, and depending on your bed, comfortable as hell. Try to broaden your vocabulary as much as you can. People then think you are smart. Own a pet, and give it all your love and affection because it will never betray or hurt you. Break the rules once in a while, but all in moderation and in good fun. Wave at strangers in cars next to you if they stare at you too long. It freaks them out. Have pictures of the people who mean the most to you out in places where you see them everyday. Meet a random stranger at 11:30 at night for coffee at Dunkin Donut’s. Fart for comedy relief. Make people feel special on their birthday, especially your best friend. Have more than one best friend, but don’t let them know about each other. And no, that’s not like cheating. Never let anyone ruin your day, especially your birthday, ESPECIALLY if they are in your past. Sometimes it is good to leave the past in the past, and keep looking forward. Keep your eyes on the prize. Always read the directions for everything, even if you don’t follow them. Always have a “happy song.” And by happy song, I mean something that no matter what, when you hear it, you smile. Feeling silly isn’t such a bad thing, it’s actually quite refreshing. Never lose sight of the inner child inside you, because that child is the innocent one inside you. And sometimes we all wish we can be innocent again. Have a hobby, hell have five hobbies. Never let the end of a love stand in your way to love again. It will hurt, a whole fucking lot, but people always heal. Trust yourself more than you usually do, and take hints from around you to help you with the future. It works for me. Stretch. Try not to screw with other people’s hearts, and don’t put up with people who screw with yours. Try to know what you want in life, and if you don’t, be honest. Make sure you have at least one person in your life you admire, and want to follow in their footsteps. Work in fast food once. Work in retail once. You will understand why after doing so. Embrace knowledge like you embrace candy, take up every morsel with each taste bud of curiosity. Stay in contact with the people who support you; high school teachers, professors, old friends. Keep in touch with them; they can really build you up when you are feeling down. Listen. Listen to everyone and everything around you. Dance in a snow storm at least once. And make out with someone in the rain at least twice. Believe in Karma; it will make you a better person. Drink plenty of water. Use Crest Whitening strips, they really work. Cut coupons; it’s okay to be cheap sometimes. Remember that being poor doesn’t make you a bad person, it makes you creative. Respect who you are and what you are. And never let anyone make you something you aren’t. Live every day like it will your last, and try your best to be the best you can be; ALWAYS. Treat others the way you want to be treated, but don’t expect it in return. Always turn the other cheek; Karma is a bitch. Learn as much as you can and try to approach everything with an open mind. Give only CONSTRUCTIVE criticism when needed. Never make yourself feel better at someone else’s expense. When things get too tough, step back, take a breather, and try to look at it in a different perspective. Never let anyone tell you how you feel, EVER. Everything comes to an end, even our troubles. If the world didn’t suck, then we’d all fall off. Think happy thoughts…and you can fly! Stay aware, listen carefully and yell for help if you need it. It's okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers -- they help us to learn. It takes both rain and sunshine to make a Rainbow. Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals. Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want. The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. If you put your mind to something, you can accomplish anything. Never pee towards the wind. Never judge a book by its cover. Try everything at least once or maybe even twice, depending on your mood. Try to think with both you heart and your head. Give and receive hugs as much as possible. Always tell the people you love that you love them as much as possible, you never know when you might not have the chance to tell them again. No one is perfect in this world. Life is not made for perfect people. And life will never be for perfect people. Life is a journey. We start out blind, naked, and small and grow up and learn the many twists, turns, ups, downs, wrongs, and rights of this imperfect world. We encounter challenges everyday. Some bigger than others, but all of them should always be kept in perspective. Everything happens for a reason. Whether you believe in God, Buddha, or Allah, something out there controls what goes on in this world. So if something bad happens, think about the circumstances on which it happened. The amazing thing about life is that it’s irreversible. Sometimes we are filled with regrets. Thoughts of “What if?” and “Maybe if I did this…” and “Oh I wish I could go back…” sometimes fill our heads with endless possibilities of what COULD have happened. But sadly enough there is no turning back. What’s done is done. And one lesson in life is that we have to learn to adjust to that. And accept it. The sun will set tonight and rise tomorrow and the world still revolves. Life goes on and whether you join the ride is up to you. Laugh a lot; it is free and potent medicine for the soul. And always remember, your problems are only as big as you make them. Never rush anything, and take everything in stride; even the good and the bad. Worrying is completely pointless, whatever is going to happen, WILL and IS going to happen, whether you worry about it or not. Always do what’s best for you, even if it hurts the ones you care about most. If they really do care about you, they will understand. Never live in the past, and never feel like you are moving backward, instead of forward. Never care what others think. Life is way to short to be guarded, and way too long to accept anything but the best. Live and let live. Live life with no expectations. That is the safest way possible. If something great comes out of it, then it is almost like an added bonus, if something bad comes out of it, then your hopes weren’t let down. If nothing comes out of it, then you are right where you left off. No damage done. Never let fear control you. Be spontaneous, and do something that you normally wouldn’t do as often as possible. Break routine. Never be bored, however take time to relax. Never be afraid to express your emotions. Crying isn’t always a bad thing. Have one friend that you know you can call at 3 in the morning no matter what; and who will always be at your side. If you can find more than one of those kind of friends; kudos. And never let them go. Exercise as much as possible. Never take anything for granted. And meet as many people as possible.More to come…