10 Things I Learned About Turning 21

As recently as yesterday, I turned 21 years old (yay). And as recently as right now, I learned some few things about becoming an adult. Are you ready for ANOTHER list? Well, ready or not....

1.) Staying up late is not as fun as it seems. 

Yes,  five years ago I would have loved staying up late on a school night and binge watching Netflix. Sometimes I would even watch late night Spanish soap operas.. Yes, that actually happened. But now,  if I could even get an extra 30 minutes of sleep that would be perfection. 

2.) Friends are cool and all, but family rocks. 

Yes, nothing beats going out with all of your favorite gal pals and dancing the night away. Or just going on late night sushi runs. But you know what? Turning into an adult has taught me that my parents are amazing, and any moment spent with them is so important. Even if it means just sitting around and listening to the whole fam bam argue over who's turn it is to choose what we watch on Netflix. 

3.) Eating late at night will almost kill you.

Well maybe not literally kill you. But it definitely will keep you up all night and include minor stomach pains in the morning. So, next time you are debating between eating that slice of pizza with extra pepperoni, ask yourself, is this really worth it? My answer would still be yes. 

4.) You can't please everyone.

Plain and simple. I wish I had learned this lesson way back. It probably would have saved me a lot of time and headaches. In reality, you just have to do what makes you happy. If by any chance, that also means making someone else happy then that's just icing on the cake. 

5.) You can't be too serious.

That's almost as bad as being too sarcastic all the time. It's great to be able to balance it out. 

6.) Hangovers are not fun.

Go out they said, take 21 shots they said.. How about no. Hangovers suck. And nothing is worse than waking up with that splitting sound in your head, no matter how funny or fun they are depicted in the movies. And with my age going up, it takes longer and longer to get over hangovers. 

7.) Taking pictures is so important.

And by pictures, I do not mean selfies. Ive honestly never been a fan of photography because I'm like totes not photogenic. But, the older you get, the more you will want to hold onto those special memories. My biggest regret in life was not taking more photos with my sister before she passed away. So if you take anything away from this post. Please take more pictures.

8.) Money is important. 

It may not buy you happiness. But it sure will buy you dinner when you are living alone in your one bedroom apartment. 

9.) "Emotional" drinking is crap.

I think just about everyone will learn this the hard way and I most certainly did. No amount of alcohol is going to fix your "broken heart" or your bad relationship. It just makes you dizzier and feel a whole lot worse when you wake up in the morning. 

10.) You will definitely make mistakes. 

But the beauty about turning 21 is that, for once, you might actually learn from those mistakes. You might do them again once or twice more, but each time you'll learn something new. Like not to eat pizza late at night. Seriously. I can't stress that enough.