It seems like forever ago that I was writing my 27 valuable life lessons article, but it was just a year ago.

In the last year, I’ve travelled to nine countries, and I’m feeling a lot younger.

I reread my list from last year and it made me so happy.

Little did I know that that post would form the foundation for all of the positive changes I made in the year to follow. I’m proud of the woman I’m becoming.

I’m sitting in a beautiful coffee shop in South Korea, surrounded by animated chatter from the tables, and it’s the best background music I’ve ever heard.

These posts are my way of saying “thank you” to the universe for what it has taught me. I’m not a guru on life, I’m a normal girl (or woman now, I guess) who has lived life to the best of her ability.

If this post brightens your day somehow, my goal has been achieved. There are so many pressures in our lifetime that attempt to structure who we should be, and it’s a constant battle to fight for our individuality without making us feel like outcasts. We’re sensitive by design, and it’s okay to feel deeply every once in a while.

I want you to feel good after reading this post.

I’m not sure if I can top the list from last year—but I’ll give it a go.

28 valuable life lessons:

1. You’re the only one holding you back. It’s not money, it’s not the time of the year—it’s you. If you want something enough, you will get it.

2. It’s okay to let your decisions be swayed by love, as long as your happiness prevails at the end of it all.

3. It’s okay to not like coffee, but drink it in order to form some kind of personality throughout the day.

4. It’s okay to be on a diet and still add those two extra sugars in your coffee to make the taste bearable.

5. It’s okay to be afraid of growing older.

6. It’s okay to have your own religious beliefs, or not follow a religion at all—there is nothing wrong with you.

7. It’s not okay to hate your job. Find something you love to do before your time runs out.

8. It’s okay to take 350 selfies but never upload one of them—they’re for you, that’s all.

9. It’s okay to want to be alone for a while. It’s healthy and necessary for personal growth. Think of your alone time like being in a cocoon, and the growth is you preparing those beautiful wings that everyone will soon admire. Create someone you admire.

10. It’s okay to look fabulous one day and not give a shit the next. Smile at the haters of your sweatpants because you know you can look hot if you want to.

11. It’s okay to feel old. Listening to younger people talk, or envying their energy, leaves a nostalgic feeling for something once experienced. This is fine. You have so many other blessings in your life at your current age.

12. It’s okay to hold onto a dream for years without making an effort for it to become a reality—timing is everything, and if it’s worth it, it’ll materialise when it’s supposed to.

13. It’s okay to feel like you’ve never been in love—your soulmate is out there waiting for you.

14. It’s okay to see the best in people, even though they may let you down. Give them as many chances as you want. At the end of the day, you felt something—they were afraid.

15. It’s okay to think you’re going to be alone forever. I’m currently in this phase, and I know I’m being dramatic but, it’s helped me shape a life that is entirely my own and not based on a gaping hole that someone needs to fill.

16. It’s okay to be jealous of a friend’s success, but it’s not okay to allow them to see that jealousy. Be a good friend and put your feelings aside.

17. It’s okay to realise a friend is no longer a friend. They were a great companion for a period of your life and that’s all. Savour the memories and move on with kindness.

18. It’s okay to sometimes wish you were 18 again, drunk on tequila and making out with random strangers. We all need a promiscuous stage, and we can dream about it fondly.

19. It’s okay to be gun-shy about love. Just remember that this new person is not the old person—don’t allow that past lover to be present in your new life. People deserve a fresh chance.

20. It’s okay to be in debt. It’s just money, it can be earned and repaid. Missed experiences can never be repaid.

21. It’s okay to hate parallel parking. Sometimes you get it right first time, and sometimes you have to retry a dozen times. Oh, the embarrassment!

22. It’s okay to be disappointed in humanity and not want to talk to anyone for days on end. We are a seriously flawed species.

23. It’s okay to like the year 2016. No need to jump on the negative train if you don’t have a ticket.

24. It’s okay to tell the truth online. Did you eat an entire pizza with zero regrets, and then wash it down with a ton of ice cream? Yup. Did you drink a lot of water that day just to feel like it would flush out the calories? Yup. Be honest and relatable. Don’t feel like you need to portray a perfect life.

25. It’s okay to think your life is sh*t when checking out Instagram. The fabulous lives of others can leave you feeling like you live a meagre existence. The online world is fickle and it’s not real, at least most of the time. I remember getting an inbox message from a reader saying how lucky I was to have my lifestyle; at the exact moment I was crying myself to sleep because I hated my life so much.

26. It’s okay to be happy. I often experience guilt when I feel overwhelmingly happy, I’m not sure why. I’m working on it.

27. It’s okay to be sad. Everyone deals with emotions differently. If you feel like you’re not over something, take that extra time. Don’t feel like you need to snap your fingers and be happy after going through something that broke you. Feel what you want to feel for as long as you want to feel it.

28. It’s okay to love the person that you are creating.

How did I do?

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Author: Tammy Lambson

Image: flickr/mrcorn

Editor: Lieselle Davidson