Steven John The author and his daughter.
- There is no guidebook to life; life lessons are gained only through time and experience, and many of our beliefs and perceptions will change over the years.
- Often the picture of a life we imagine for ourselves and the life we end up living are quite different, and in most cases that's just fine.
- Here are 10 life lessons my 20-year-old self might not have wanted to hear, but that my actual adult self can confirm as fact.
At the time of this writing, I'm 36 years old. I have two cute kids, a wonderful wife, a yard that needs raking, a fair amount of gray hair on the sides, and almost no free time.
Does my life look exactly like I pictured it would when I was 20? Actually, in some ways, yes. But over the course of the last decade and a half, I've learned that much of what I expected from life would either never come, or would come in different ways than I thought.
My first career, the thing for which I'd gone to school to prepare, never panned out. (Filmmaking, in case you're wondering.) I figured that as an adult I'd spend time with friends weekly if not daily, just like I always had, yet I've not seen some of my closest friends in months, and a few in years.
I thought there would be more free time to try new things, travel, have hobbies, and just to relax, yet with each passing year I have to pass on more opportunities, give up on personal projects, and go to bed instead of reading that book or watching that show.
In short, my 20-year-old self thought life would be easier. Here are 10 hard truths I've learned that have proven that life can be pretty tough stuff.