100 things I have learned

1. Sometimes people just don't like you, and you will never entirely know why.

2. Typos will be made at the most inopportune times.

3. If you tell yourself not to forget something, you will forget it.

4. Raising someone in a particular tradition, religious or otherwise, gives you not one iota of assurance that they will stay in that tradition.

5. In fact, depending how you package it, they may very well run as far from that tradition as they can get.

6. Most of the people who should not be gifted with children, are.

7. Bad days get worse.

8. If you actually like quote-on-quote 'bad' weather, sunny days will stalk you.

9. The world is full of creepers.

10. Quite often, the first impression is the weirdest.

11. No matter how subtly you try to turn your head, people in the cars next to you at stop lights freaking NOTICE if you try to stare at them.

12. I firmly pin the blame for most of the bad decisions made in the world today on a lack of sleep.

13. If you can make it into a sexual innuendo, you should do so posthaste.

14. All those people making fun of D&D over the years were just doing it cause they're jealous they don't know how to roll a natural 20.

15. It doesn't matter how many times someone tells you you're beautiful if you don't actually believe them.

16. Cats have two extremes: they either don't give a fuck or they REALLY give a fuck. And you will rarely be in doubt as to which it is.

17. Dogs are the enablers of the world. You could kill your mother in front of your puppy and it still thinks you are God.

18. Nobody cares about fish, they just make nice conversational pieces.

19. The only thing to survive the nuclear apocalypse will be Twinkies, cockroaches, and HAMSTERS. Those little buggers survive basically whatever you do to them. I should know; I had one as a child.

20. Sadly, most of the poetry written by the current population is...just...crap.

21. Inevitably, a mess will be made.

22. Things fall apart; the center cannot hold.

23. Most people do not wash their hands after using the bathroom.

24. Kissing someone on a regular basis means resigning yourself to being sick at the same time as that someone, or immediately afterwards.

25. Of course, that also generally means you will have a sympathetic shoulder to cry/puke/bellyache/blow snot on.

25. Hugging is an art.

26. Grass is, deceptively, rarely as dry as it looks.

27. The world is full of insects, and they all want a sip of your soda.

28. If you make a list of what you wish to love in someone, they will inevitably confound your expectations.

29. Life is too short to be passive aggressive.

30. Some people are to politics what bulls are to red shirts. Try not to taunt them too much.

31. Don't pay so much attention to the 'supposed to's' of life.'

32. L'art pour l'art.

33. If a fulfilling life is Rome, many paths lead there...and not all pass through the hallowed halls of higher education.

34. 'Because it's scary,' is not a good reason for not doing something.

35. If someone asks your opinion, give it to them. And don't apologize.

36. We fall so we can learn to pick ourselves up again.

37. Television shows can always be taped. Youtubed. Or simply ignored in the name of living your life on your own timetable.

38. Big purses can hold everything you need. They can also lose everything you need.

39. Color is more interesting outside the lines.

40. Just dance.

41. Don't lie if you can avoid it.

42. Money comes and money goes, but most opportunities are unique.

43. Take more pictures, even if they're blurry and you never show them to anyone else.

44. Write more poems, even if they're stupid and you never show them to anyone else.

45. Travel.

46. Cloudwatch.

47. Take walks in the rain.

48. On their death bed, no one ever wished they had spent less time with their friends.

49. Your mother will NEVER stop worrying.

50. The cake is a lie.

51. There is no spoon.

52. You can never go wrong if you keep nail clippers on hand at all times.

53. Listen to more music.

54. Don't be afraid to create.

55. DON'T censor yourself.

56. It's only as awkward as you make it.

57. Eliminate the ought.

58. Journal.

59. Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

60. The sound of silence can be one of the best in the world.

61. Beauty is found in the strangest places.

62. So are friends.

63. Life's too short, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly, and forgive quickly.

64. Stop and smell the flowers!

65. Take the road less traveled. Even if you don't have a map. ESPECIALLY if you don't have a map.

66. Hastily dismissing people is usually a mistake.

67. Don't burn bridges, you may need to beat a hasty retreat over them at some point.

68. Choose life. Even for spiders.

69. Have some fruit.

70. Tip well.

71. Sing! In the shower! On the sidewalk! To your girlfriend! In your car!

72. Stop and listen to the ocean. Not the one in the shell. The real one.

73. Watch the falling leaves.

74. Read by candlelight.

75. It is impossible to change someone's mind via argument.

76. Sometimes the only thing you can do is walk away.

77. Your best friend WILL find out eventually. Best to just give in and tell them.

78. Your parents are much, much smarter than you give them credit for. Plan accordingly.

79. Drinking water is overrated.

80. If you're going to regret not doing it, do it.

81. Some of the worst decisions make some of the best stories.

82. Public transportation will give you a much more accurate view of the world than cruising alone in your car.

83. Although cruising alone in a car with the stereo cranked up can be very cathartic.

84. Sometimes a good cry makes it all better.

85. If you love them, tell them.

86. Give people flowers.

87. Don't listen to that negative voice inside of you. It's generally wrong.

88. Pay more attention to the details.

89. But don't lose sight of the big picture.

90. Don't be so scared.

91. Love unconditionally.

92. Trust with no reservations (still working on this one).

93. Draw on the sidewalk.

94. Pick up trash, even if it's not yours...maybe even especially if it's not yours. If you don't, who will?

95. How will you know if you like it unless you try it?

96. Cookies.

97. It's fun making other people lose the game...

98. Memorize poems.

99. What has been seen cannot be unseen.

100. Lists are fun.