I LOVE a list post, don't I.
For me, there's no better read, and it's one of my favourite things to write. In 10 days, I'm turning 22, and in true Alice's Antics fashion (literally, I've written these since I turned 20), I thought I would share the wisdom I've learnt along the way.
Spoiler: All of it I learnt from life experience, none of it I learnt in lectures.
1) Get a professional to do your eyebrows. Even once you've stopped over-plucking and are embracing your natural shape, there's no way to embrace it better than by paying a wonderful trained professional to give you the brows your face deserves.
2) The word of the year is communication. Get off your Facebook messenger and speak over the phone. If you're angry, tell them face to face. If you know what you want, or if you don't, let the other person know your thought process. Start talking about the problem and stop sharing it on your group chat.
3) There are pals for all occasions, and the sooner you can figure out which ones you want to call at 11pm to go on a night out, at 3am to cry down the phone about your life, or at 9am for an ego/you GOT this girl boost, the better.
4) When you're 15, you look at being in your 20s and think, wow, I'll really have my shit together. Let me tell you, 99% of you will NOT. If anything it's more scary, because the stakes are higher. But that also makes it 100x more exciting.
5) Television is actually a lot more boring than I ever thought. Gone are the days when I can sit in front of one channel and just let it play in the background. Give me a Netflix box set over live-TV any day. (Except Line of Duty, of course).
6) Having an upset tummy in public is one of the worst life scenarios ever. Get yourself friends you can quietly explain the sitch to, and know that you're only human. You do what you gotta do.
7) Spending £100 on a night out is only justifiable if you're already having a great time, not if you're trying to get drunk to substitute how bad it is. There's nothing worse than waking up the next morning feeling as if the world (and your bank card) is screaming at you, and knowing it wasn't even worth it.
8) There are far more good people in the world than there are bad, it's just that the good doesn't make the headlines. There's been a lot of shit going on in recent years, look for the good in the aftermath to restore your sense of humanity.
9) Shops all have different size guides, just remember, for all of those times you cry in the changing rooms about not being able to button up an H&M size 16, you'll walk on clouds when 10 minutes later the New Look size 12 is loosey goosey.
10) In life and love, you should want to pull up the people around you. Those who aren't doing so well, should have the right and ability to do better. I have learnt, to apply this to my rule of politics too. Vote for the people who don't kick the bottom whilst they're down on the floor already.
11) Always trust the instinct of a dog who doesn't like a human, but don't trust a human who doesn't like dogs.
12) If you want your nail varnish to stay on for longer, it's worth that extra 10 minutes of putting on a top coat. Even though most of us don't have the time, or patience, it stops your nail varnish from chipping after 5 minutes.
13) Experience presents are the best kind of presents. From a meal at a lovely restaurant, to a trip to a show, or just a day out visiting museums. The best kind of presents is the ones you can't physically unwrap, but will remember for years.
14) Sex scenes in films never get easier with parents. Myself and my sister are grown up and we still want to curl up into a ball.
15) Boys don't get easier. They might get less annoying and less smelly (maybe) than your 8 year old self believed. But they don't get easier to understand. Some of my best friends are boys and they still need to spell it out to me most of the time.
16) There's no real slap in your adult-face, like paying taxes. But it's okay, they may pay for a lot of controversial things, but they also pay for that time you fell down the stairs after 5 tequila's too many and couldn't walk for a week after.
17) Find your style of underwear, and embrace it. Some of us live in thongs, some of us live in french knickers, and some just love girl boxers. But comfort-wise, nothing will ever beat good old soft cottons from M&S.
18) Do you know what's really great? Having a guilt free dip into your tub of Ben and Jerry's, because you've worked your arse off at the gym all week. Exercising takes some getting used to. But it's good for you, it makes you live longer, and it makes Cab Sav taste 100x better.
19) It's okay to call your parents on your hard days. It doesn't mean you're giving up, or you're a failure. You don't suddenly reverse back to being a needy 13 year old. It just means you can admit when you need some TLC, and that's perfectly okay.
20) Exfoliating is the key to everything. Smooth skin, a better tan and raising the game of the unbeatable feeling of freshly shaved legs on clean sheets.
21) Remember, we are different to our parents. Our paths in life are different to our parents, the amount of debt we will get in is different to our parents, our options are more varied, and far more exciting. So take every opportunity thrown at you. Nothing is forever, and that's truer now than it has ever been.
22) Find your drink and nail it. Learn how much vodka you can drink to get the perfect amount of tipsy. Recognise that red wine makes you vom on a night out. Understand that sambuca makes you fall over but tequila makes you take your underwear off.
Being honest, this is just the tip of the ice berg. If my own mum and her friends are anything to go by, we all have a lot more to learn.
Love, Alice x
0 comments