Time flies when you are having fun they said, soon turning 19 then 20 almost out of my teen ages. What a fun time it was. So here are some life lessons I learned in my teen ages. Life is all about the evolution, Change.

1. Happiness

Happiness does not come from the huge things but the little things you do and have around you, what I mean is most of what we see and consume this days is that happiness is achievable only when we reach a certain goal or a certain point in our life but happiness can be found everywhere in our everyday mundane tasks, like waking up all safe, eating a common meal with your mom every Sunday, going to the library with your friends every weekday. If we look for things to be grateful about then happiness is attainable.
Just focus on the small things.

2. Societal Hierarchy

Albert Camus once said

“Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous amount of energy merely to be normal”

Every where you go there is a hierarchy a pyramid that maintains a certain community, or group and as a means of survival technique and feelings of tribalism our brain convinces us that trying to fit in into that hierarchy and achieving the a certain status is the ideal goal but that’s not all to life. Specially in this modern age it’s not essential or required of you to join or fit in to a group you can embrace your own ideals and opinions and still be part of anything you want without struggling to fit in and loosing yourself in the process of that. Because it’s at this time, when your a teenager your brain is the most flexible and able to adapt to certain situations quickly so don’t waste your teen ages trying to fit in. Stop trying to be some one else your not.

Miles Davis

“It takes a long time to sound like yourself”

3. Have Faith or Goals

Believe in something, have faith in something or have goals to achieve because as Ted Kaczynski said

“a comfortable society kills the power process”

what is meant by the power process is that man looses all ideals and goals in his life even faith because everything becomes attainable at some point and this is specially applicable in the age we are in right now, smart phones, social media, instant gratification and so on. So in order not to loose hope and fall into the abyss of nihilism have faith in God or set attainable goals.

4. Beauty is not physical

Tom hardy once said

“I have seen beauty in people who were called ugly and I have seen the devil in most angelic faces”

this is something most people don’t learn quickly in life, because what we see can fool us, our eyes can deceive us. Beauty does not mean something it to be trusted even the oleander is beautiful and majestic but deadly and poisonous what matter the most is the mentality of a person not the beauty they display.

5. Don't fall for the same mistake

Be quick to learn from your mistakes and not repeating them because time is always running out and not there to stay

6. Your friends matter

As a teenager when people used to tell me the people I hang around with mattered I usually thought they where trying to boss me around and dictate my how I want to live my life. But that’s not the friends you have and spend time with majority of the time affect your life choices.

7. Hard work pays off

Patience is the key to success I do not know who said that but it is quite a popular saying used around the world. Everyone you see successful had to pass through hell and a lot of struggle to get there, there is no over night success and shortcuts in life. No matter how long it takes the amount of work you put in will eventually pay back.

8. Not everything is meant to last forever

As a teenager the urge of being accepted and loved is really at its peak, working out to look bulk or staying online to impress a girl. But after all the hard work we put in we expect for things to finish happily ever after and stay the way they are. We forget that in this life nothing Is meant to last forever. Your friends, loved ones, career, grades and all just fade away as time goes. So learning to accept this fact is huge, learn to love and let go.

9. Stay positive, avoid negative thoughts

Tom waits once said

“Don’t plant your bad days. They grow into weeks. The weeks grow into months. Before you know it, you got yourself a bad year. Take it from me. Choke those little bad days. Choke ‘em down to nothing. They’re you days. Choke ‘em”

It’s over easy to overthink and over analyze stuff, but further more it is more easy to end up on the negative side of things that the positive ones. Our negative thoughts lead us to have bad days after that Tom waits summarized it all.

10. The Percentage That Don’t Understand, Is Higher Than The Percentage That Do

Jim Harrison once said

“Every day I wonder how many things I’m dead wrong about”

there is more to life than what you grew up with and currently experiencing. As Socrates said “true wisdom is knowing you know nothing” never rush to conclusion or decisions thinking you know everything because in reality you don’t know anything.

11. Hating Is Pointless

There’s probably someone (or a group of folks) at your job, community, family or at school who savor every moment they can hate on you. They look like they drank expired milk every time they see you shining. Don’t let those people get you down. Those mean mugs don’t mean nothing’. As the saying goes, those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. Keep shining

12. Drugs come in many forms

Cocaine, Marijuana, Nicotine are not the only drugs you will be exposed to. Attention, Lust and Hypocrisy are most of the common drugs you can get addicted to and see other people chasing too. Becoming the center of attention and the hero of every minute of the day is a drug so is Hypocrisy too shaming others and pointing out the wrong doing of everyone else while you are the one who is always. Lust is for all my teenage homies it never is worth your time fantasizing about how much you could have done with her in bed. Its all a mental drug that unleashes dopamine and give you the thrill of it.

13. Motivation is a false god

Motivation can’t keep you up on the long run. Motivation is the catapult you need to push yourself and start your journey Discipline is the key to reach your goals in life.

• Can’t hurt me – David Goggins
• Self discipline – Curtis Leone

14. Reflect

Learn to admit your mistakes swallow your ego and let go of your pride, learn to take the time and understand what you did wrong and how prevent it from happening I the future.

15. Freedom is the ultimate slavery (Orwell)

Firs time I read the George Orwell I was confused by what he meant to say freedom is the ultimate slavery. Teenage years are those times you spend rebelling and seeking freedom from everything it’s always you against the world. But as a matter of fact the more freedom on can get the more enslaved they are to their desires and goals they want to achieve. Learn to restrain yourself from hedonistic living. Live life by principles and rules.

16. Use your time wisely

J. Cole once said

“they say time is money but really it's not if we ever go broke time is all we got”

time is your best friend and worst enemy at the same time, you can adapt and learn to use it wisely then its a great weapon. But if you can’t manage your time then it’s a dangerous master. After all timing is the key.

18. Learn to give

We sometimes forget that we are mortal after all. Our main focus in life is reaching this materialistic ideals and goals. What Karl Marx calls “Consumer Fetishism” buying the new plates, sofa, TV, PS, phone will never fulfill you but trust me when I tell you giving things to people who need it the most will.

19. Dream like you've never seen obstacles and expect less

Shoot for the stars land on the moon they say, never let people tell you what you want or cut you off your dreams keep on dreaming but don’t latch onto the idea that everything you dream will become reality because always expect the unexpected the higher you dream the more you put in and the less your expect the lesser space there is for you to be disappointed.

20. Know when to lead, learn and follow

I was inspired by lots of people.. but I never wanted to be someone else.
There are times where you need to lead and times where you need to follow. Understanding situations like this always makes a difference if you learn from everyone and anyone then you will become some one else let some people lead and inspire your and let you lead and inspire other people too.

I hope you learned a lot from this, summarizing 18 years is kind of hard but i tired to do my best with it.