3 THINGS I WISH I DID DIFFERENTLY WHEN I WAS 21

THREE THINGS I WISH I HAD DONE DIFFERENTLY WHEN I WAS 21

When you are 21, fresh out of university and land a steady paying job, it might seem like you have made it in life. However, the truth is- this is just the beginning of #Adulting. So, here's a list of things I wish I had done differently: 1. SAYING "YES" TO THINGS I CAN'T FOLLOW THROUGH: I understand there are plenty of reasons that lead us to say YES to things like favours for friends or even social activities. However, a lot of us put ourselves in a position where we know in our heart of hearts that we wouldn't follow through. I'll admit, there is nothing worse than looking at your calendar and dread looking at the things you agreed to or be cancelling on people at the last moment- especially when you could have avoided it by saying NO in the first place.  Although it did take me a few years to learn the art of saying no. Now, I say no to things up front and be honest to myself about what I can and cannot do. As a result, it has saved me a lot of time. 2. ART OF NEGOTIATION: Something I wasn't taught in college or in school was: how to negotiate. When I was a fresh graduate at 21 and saw that employers were willing to pay me money for the work that I wanted to do although they would be paying me in peanuts and I was like "I WILL TAKE IT". But jokes apart, not negotiating did cost me a few thousands over the period. One reason I didn't negotiate was as I wasn't even a graduate at the time and got hired, I thought I was only worth the money the employer was willing to pay.  3. KNOW NOT ALL UNIVERSITY/SCHOOL FRIENDSHIPS LAST : We have all been there making vows to our school and university friends that we will be BFF. But the fact is a lot of our friendships are contextual. A lot of our close friends in college were only close because we saw them almost every day. Again I think different people take this differently some people beat themselves up when they lose that connection with people they were close to. I wasn't one of them. But, the friendships that did survive the test of time is the one I cherish the most today. No one will tell you this but, when you are working, busy and a responsible adult you will only really have time for a few close friends and this already is a solid accomplishment. Bottom line is don't run behind the idea of finding a label that fits you like "student" did. We are always behind tags like I am a professional or an accountant or a whatever. We try so hard to find these perfect tags that we can really be proud of and live up to, only to realize that these tags don't define who we are.  So as cliché as it may sound learn to be comfortable in just being you.

Tell me know if you relate to my list and mention yours below.