22 Things I've Learned in 22 Years

My brother and I supporting the Packers in the Super Bowl!

There was nothing special about the night of September 10th, 1996, other than the man who jumped the curb of the Hwy 45 on-ramp and went on the grass past all the traffic to get on the freeway. That man was my dad and he was on his way to the hospital when he thought his second child was about to be delivered in rush hour traffic. Traffic was terrible, but luckily my mom's mean doctor was slightly behind in her own vehicle.

To be clear, I was not born in my parents' car. But according to my mom, once she made it to the hospital, I refused to come out. And not much has really changed since then. "It's been Abi's way or the highway even before she was born" - My dad

All jokes aside, it's been a crazy 22 years and I've learned a few things along the way. I could write a nice novel about it, but instead I'll sum up a partial list in no particular order of some of my favorite life lessons:

1. Do what you love, do it often & do it unapologetically.
2. Help others as often as you can.
3. Pay attention to your thoughts. What you're thinking is what you're attracting to your world.
4.  You cannot avoid offending others from time to time. When you don't mean it, apologize. When you do mean it, accept the consequences.
5. Your mom is usually right.
6. Self-doubt will be your creative downfall.
7. Not everyone thinks the way you think.
8. It is not illegal to turn on the little light in the car when someone is driving.
9. Timing has a lot to do with everything.
10. Your feelings are always valid. You're allowed to feel them & take as much time as you need to heal.
11. The best things in life aren't things.
12. Spend as much time as you can with the people you love. You never know when you won't have them.
13. Never stop learning and growing.
14. Certain things will never go back to how they used to be & that's okay.
15. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
16. Enjoy time alone & believe in yourself.
17. Travel as often as you can.
18. What you give power to has power over you.
19. You can't find happiness in other people.
20. Don't let the opinions of others dictate how you love your life.
21. Never apologize for how you feel.
22. Don't waste a single moment.

And as always, take care of yourselves . . .

Abi