The twenty something advice series throughout this year has really grown and progressed and I am always excited when I get an email from someone wanting to provide advice to fellow twenty somethings via GenPink. A while back I got the following email from Erica of Five Blondes:

The topic I’d love to write about is something along the lines of ‘When your body strikes back’. I was 18 when I started having seizures and It wasn’t until I was well into my 20s that I really came to terms with it and accepted it. I have advice I can pass on to others who are having health problems as young adults.

I was really intrigued by this idea. I’ve had several friends, especially in the last year, diagnosed with unique and pretty serious health issues. My friend Andrea recently wrote that if the doc says "well, that only happens to .5% of people, so I wouldn’t worry about it" - she’s usually that .5% . So of course I was interested when Erica was offering to shed some light on this topic.

This guest post was written by Erica, 1 of 5 sisters who blogs at Five Blondes. Erica was 18 when she had her first seizure at her home. Later seizures have disrupted a packed movie theatre, scared video game store employees, and freaked out patrons of the golf course she was working at. It has been about 14 months since her last seizure, thanks in large part to her fiance’s constant reminders to stay medicated. Erica is also hoping that the Canadian government will give her drivers license back soon.

I remember commotion - voices, strange noises. I had moved - I wasn’t on the couch where I had earlier laid down for a nap, but rather on the cold hardwood floor below. I opened my eyes slowly to see the face of my doctor. Where did he come from, I wondered.

"Well, Erica," he said, "Looks like you’re not going to be driving for a while. You just had a seizure."

I was then wheeled out of my own house on a stretcher and traveled to the nearest hospital. Watching buildings, trees, and roads go by through the tiny ambulance window that I normally saw from the drivers seat of a vehicle gave me an incredible sense of deja vu; understanding that I wouldn’t be driving again for some time was depressing. I was experiencing waves of emotion that I didn’t understand, and my body was acting in ways that confounded me.

From that day on, I’ve been confused as to why my brain would do this. Unfortunately, various specialists in the field of neurology are puzzled as well. Developing a seizure disorder in your late teens is actually not entirely uncommon, and while many grow out of their seizures after just a few years ( as my doctors assured me that I likely would), I’m still taking anti-convulsant medication twice a day at 25. I’ve also been sad, depressed, frustrated, and just plain mad. Who wouldn’t be?

I don’t show my emotions very much outwardly and I think that many people in my life don’t realize just how hard on me the past 7 years have been. I’m sure this is true for many 20-somethings experiencing medical difficulties. Your twenties are about beginning your life as an adult and proving yourself in the world - no one wants to be seen as ‘the girl who has seizures’ or ‘the guy with [insert illness here]’. My experience has been that you will soon discover just who in your life cares about you the most. You might be surprised! Naturally, close friends and family have always been there for me, but I’ve also had conversations with one of my great-uncles calling me out of the blue after he heard a news report on a new study of how cranberries might cause seizures. My fiance is number one in my support system - he will remind me to ‘take my meds’ three times a day, after I’ve already taken them while standing beside him. Annoying? Yes! Helpful? Absolutely. I’m asked "Did you take your medication today?" and "how are you doing these days?" because people care about me. If you are in a similar situation, just remember that your friends and family bother you because they care.

One things I constantly find myself repeating is "It’s OK". It’s OK to be depressed, frustrated, and mad. It’s OK to hate being dependant on medication to live a normal life. It’s OK to do your own research and question your doctors! It’s OK to talk to your friends and family about your feelings (if you’re not comfortable sharing everything, I recommend talking to a therapist - get those feelings out!!), and most of all, it’s OK to rely on others for help - you’ll probably find that they’ll be happy to be there for you.

As I sit here on a Thursday afternoon, using my break time from working to "work" on my blog I find the subject of this guest post ironically laughable.

This guest post was written by David Giesberg, a fellow Brazen Careerist, who is currently an engineering student. David blogs about technology, productivity, and personal finance.

People spend a lot of time worrying about getting things done and maximizing productivity, but more important than just maximizing productivity is what your goals are when you start off on down that road. Don’t use all of the time that you free up to load yourself down with more things to do, that’s a recipe for burnout. I’m not sure if it is an engineering student thing to do, or what, but I have a tendency to let homework (and a lot of other work) expand into whatever space and time I have. Make sure to factor in free time into your schedule (whether that schedule is written down or just your game plan for the day), you need to use that time to eat, sleep, watch TV, spend time with loved ones, whatever it is that you need to make time for, the stuff that really matters.

I am not quite there yet, but I am trying to retrain myself to not let schoolwork take over my life and time, too much other stuff in my life suffers when I do that - my health and my relationships, for example, not to mention that the quality of your work suffers if you are tired, overloaded, and not focused. Getting things done should not be about optimizing your existing workload so you can add more stuff; GTD should be about freeing yourself up to pursue the things that you need to do and to improve the things that you already do. Doing less stuff better has got to be a more valuable pursuit than trying to do a million things poorly.

Let’s explore this, using students as an example: A lot of people will say that your GPA doesn’t really matter that much in the grand scheme of things. All a 4.0 says is that you do schoolwork very well, it doesn’t say much else about you. Alternatively, if you can show off a collection of valuable experience, like internships, or a great blog or involvement in a community project or build deeper, more valuable relationships with those around you, that will matter a lot more in the long run.

Use the progress you make in maximizing productivity to do something meaningful, concentrate your energy on the stuff and people that matter.

I will tell you a little secret David, this idea of filling up whatever space you have with "stuff" is not mutually exclusive with engineering students. In fact, it’s a pretty common issue with I will take a stretch here and say everyone. I am not really a schedule based person but I do make time for non-work things by scheduling dinners with my friends, reading, and creating self imposed no computer times. It’s amazing how much you can get done, or not, by giving yourself even 30 minutes of freedom.

It’s important to know what motivates you to get things done. My "get things done for the right reason" is so that I can have fun and spend time with all the wonderful people in my life. I like to say that I work hard so that I can play hard, even though my "play" lately tends to be being lazy by the pool.

So, my question for you dear freeders, what’s your reason for getting things done?

It’s been a while since we’ve had a guest post in the advice series. This post was contributed by Dorie Morgan, who blogs regularyly about navigating twenty-something suburban life.

I recently had the pleasure of applying for a new position within my company. And by pleasure, what I really mean is a brutally nerve wracking experience. The day before my interview for the position, I realized that not only did I have a five hour interview ahead of me but my five hours of interview fun were being crammed into one day, instead of the usual 2 to 3 day process. It was going to be a rough Wednesday.

The other tough part about this interview was that I was being interviewed by people that I have worked with day in and day out for a year and a half. Two of the interviewers were even hired after me. At first I thought that this could be a good thing. It would be a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere, they already know my work habits and they all have so much on their plates right now that it was possible that the interview could take less than its allotted time.

Wait a minute. They already know my work habits. Good, bad or neurotic, there was no hiding from that now.

These are the people who watched me turn a donut into a Voodoo Doll last spring and leave it on a coworker’s desk because I was tired of him leaving have eaten food on the break room table. FYI: You can write on a powered sugar donut with an ultra fine tip sharpie but a thicker tip will clog with sugar much faster.

These are the people who know about my neurotic tendencies when it comes to creating systems of organization. They’ve seen my FranklinCovey planning system and know that it not only comes with me everywhere but is color coded by event.

But, these are also the people who know that I frequently come in on a Saturday morning to clear away nagging projects that I don’t want to think about at the beginning of the next work week (I like my Monday mornings to be fresh, clean and pretty).

Who I am as a colleague and as a person were already out there on the table for my interviewers to experience.

Fortunately, no one asked me about the now infamous Voodoo Donut but they did ask me about how I developed my complex color coded planning system. It was still an exhausting day and I wouldn’t want to repeat it anytime soon. The upside to it all is that some of my colleagues now have a better idea of who I am and what it is I really do.

I still haven’t heard if I will be offered the position but right now, I don’t think I have anything to worry about.

One of the things that I love most about guest posts is that I’m able to have advice on topics that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to have input about. I have personally never had an internal interview. Have you? Was your experience similar to Dorie’s?

I’ve had a number of responses to the quest for guest bloggers for my weekly Twenty Something Advice series.

This guest post was written by a 20SB who blogs at Nothing to Show But This Brand New Tattoo

I’m a middle aged woman trapped in a twenty-seven year olds body. I go
to bed around 10pm each night and wake up throughout the night with
to-do lists running through my head. I work in a fast paced office
managing large projects for public safety agencies throughout the
southeast. I actively participate in several civic organizations and
co-chair a youth organization for young women. I am a mother, wife,
sister, daughter, and friend.

Seven years ago, my life didn’t seem to be destined for this path.
At twenty years old I imagined myself going to college, marrying a
rich man, and having a house full of babies…sometime around 35. I
further imagined myself enjoying every minute of my twenties as though
I was on a decade long series of an MTV Spring Break show.
My best friend’s and I enjoyed night after night of parties, clubs,
alcohol and boyfriends. We were never going to be old married women
before sowing our proverbial oats. I learned quickly - "never say
never".

Two years into my twenties I found myself unmarried and pregnant. I
tossed around the options before me for what seemed like forever. I
wasn’t open to abortion. I’ll forever take a pro-life stance for
myself, and pro-choice for all other women. I had recently witnessed
my very best friend give her first born up for adoption 10 months
prior to my son’s birth. I knew this wasn’t an option for me. I
vaguely remember considering a "shot-gun" wedding however, that idea
was tossed aside very quickly.

Four months after my son was born, he passed away while I was at work.
At twenty-two years old I was a grieving mother.

"If you had the foresight to know how the end would be, would you
have changed your mind?"

My friend J. was twenty-one years old when she found out she was
pregnant. She did not have the means to offer a child the life they
honestly deserve. She was 22 by the time the adoption papers were
signed. The court order said she was to receive pictures and letters
of her son until he was five years old. She received the first
birthday photo and never heard another word from the adoptive parents.
Now she occasionally cry’s herself to sleep over the boy she’ll never
know.

"If you knew how it would turn out, would you have changed your mind?"

My friend C. was a 25 year old college graduate working in a
successful law firm three years ago. She was offered a position for a
small software company that seemed like a dream come true. The hours,
benefits, and salary were exactly what she was looking for. She took
the position and instantly made lasting relationships with her
co-workers. Six months into her employment, she was laid off. Suddenly
her world was filled with anxiety and stress. The exact reasons she
wanted out of the law firm.

"If you knew what would happen, would you have taken the chance?"

Each of us will spend most of our twenties trying to figure out this
thing called "Life". Choices, options and decisions will be thrown at
us. Mistakes, misfortune, and horrible outcomes will likely result
from even the best laid plans. The idea isn’t to duck or dodge the
choices. Indecision is worse than the wrong decision.

My advice to all twenty-something’s is simple – Think long and hard
about all of life’s options. Second guess yourself, always. In the
end, once you have come to a final decision – Have no regrets.

I think this is great advice for people of all ages. Often times we spend more time beating ourselves up over a decision than we do making the decision up front. I’m reminded of the cliche "what’s done is done." Thank you for sharing your words of wisdom with us.

I would say that one of my biggest lessons in my twenties has been that the cliche "age is just a number" is all a game of perception. Your age can be a limitation if you allow it. I find that sometimes I fall into the false perceptions of society that I need to earn my keep and work my way up for a while because right now I am "too young" to be the top dog. Other times though, I am reminded that our generation is full of fresh and new ideas and there are already so many of us making a big name for ourselves. I may have the occasional limiting thought about age but I know that my age has nothing to do with what I can accomplish with my life.

This guest post was written by Nathan Snell an entrepreneurship & business development major about to graduate from the University of North Carolina in Wilmington, a fitting degree for a Gen-Yer who started doing consultant work at age 11.

"This is the last e-mail I will send," I thought, still debating whether I should make that final *click*, sending an e-mail to one of the most well known Radio Talk Show hosts in San Francisco, CA. I was 11, and Cynthia Oti had made an announcement on her show that she needed someone to create a website for her. Despite the jokes of my friends and the hesitant encouragement from my parents, I decided I was going to create Cynthia’s website. I found out the hard way that for an 11 year old, that would be a difficult decision to live with.

I’m sure we’ve all had a situation where we have the desire to challenge the odds. Not in a flippant way, but in a completely legitimate way. At first we are excited about our new found desire, this passion. We attack adversity to our passion head-on… for a while, at least. Then, for most of us, the criticism is too much as people tell us "You’ll never get there," "you’re wasting your time," or "you’re too young," and we give up.

I hate to think of the times I’ve given up because those are all false, but most of all, "you’re too young" is false.

Being too young should never be an excuse for us to quit pursuing our desire to go against the odds, to do something incredible. With the struggle I have faced when I have gone against the odds, it makes me sad that age was ever a factor put into my mind, or anyone else’s. Doing something incredible is simply something that "too young" will never apply to.

With Cynthia, it turned out the last e-mail I would send was what it would take. The next time I spoke to her was in her office on the top floor of the Bank of America building in San Francisco.

I’d love to hear what kind of incredible things you all want to do either now, or in the future, so I can know what to expect!

Nathan, I think if you can put together a website at 11 I should never let myself think that maybe this business doesn’t want "some 26 year old" to develop their online branding.

This series has been written about the ABCs of life in your twenties. And many great people have contributed and provided great insight to what life for a twenty-something is like these days. What I have not pointed out much though (this may go without saying), is that I am always talking about the twentysomethings of today. Our generation of twentysomethings is so different than those before us. Gen Y is all over the media and the blogosphere because of the difference we are making in the work force and in the world. My mother was a twentysomething in the sex, drugs, and rock and roll era, she was certainly not concerned about work/life balance.

Our generation has a continual struggle between balance and being completely overwhelmed because we are taking on too many things. Through all of these struggles of trying to be the best we sometimes stretch ourselves too thing and end up with little pieces of too many things. This is why I asked Lisa to write about going to extremes. I do not know Lisa personally but we communicate via the internet world fairly frequently. I know that Lisa is an athlete (actually a triathlete), and I know that being great at any sort of sport requires dedication and determination as well as a strong focus. Aside from her marathoning, I have seen Lisa’s sense of dedication through the 20 something bloggers network. So, I could think of no one better to present us with today’s lesson of taking life to the extreme.

This guest post was written by Lisa, a 3rd year engineering student in Canada, founder of 20sb, who blogs regularly at I Don’t Think It’s Going to Rain.

Yeah, yeah, I know: balance.

As 20 somethings we time-manage our way through life. We budget. We rationalize. We compromise.

That’s all fine and dandy. They say the species that are most likely to survive are those that are mediocre. Those that are most average. So sure, if your goal is purely survival, then find that balance and be mediocre.

"We must overcome the notion that we must be regular…it robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads you to the mediocre." –Uta Hagen

I think we’re continually held back from being exceptional due to a self inflicted sense of obligation to participate in everything.

We can peel off our socks and dip our toes in a hundred different pools of water… or we can choose a pool, sprint towards it, stumbling as we rip off our clothes, and cannon-ball in with a huge splash.

When is the last time you totally shirked a silly obligation to instead just GO FOR IT. (’It’ being your dream)

Try it. Think of any commitment you currently have and say "Whatever" to it.
Whatev.
‘Tev
Whatevskies.

Think irrationally as an exercise.

Wouldn’t finishing a marathon feel great? Doesn’t eating only pizza and diet Coke for 2 weeks while you cram hardcore for exams make for the best stories? Wouldn’t digging wells in Africa for three years be sort of the most fun thing you can think of? Isn’t following through on a dare to watch an entire season of 24 in 24 hours sort of exhilarating?

I seriously doubt that your favorite Olympian skips practice every so often so that they don’t feel like they let a friend down by missing her pre-baby-shower shower. And that CEO and founder of that starting-to-become-successful startup surely cares more about getting this company off the ground than she does about unwinding by spending 2 hours in the kitchen honing her honey baked ham recipe.

I’m not suggesting that you abandon your friends and intentionally lead a stressful life. I’m merely proposing that we COMMIT. That we STICK TO IT.

Find something that you are desperately passionate about and go to whatever extremes you can for it. Chase the adrenaline rush.

Stop caring about things you don’t actually care about. There’s time enough for everything else later.

"There’ll be time enough for sleeping when we’re dead
You will have a velvet pillow for your head
But tonight I think I’d rather just go dancing
There’ll be time enough for sleeping when we’re dead, my love"
-Time Enough for Rocking When We’re Old, by the Magnetic Fields

Why do we put such pressure on ourselves to be everything? Small doses of everything. Just enough to be mediocre in all areas of our life.

I vote that "all things in moderation" is a load of crap.

Be something to the extreme. Be it as hard as you can. Go. Do. Be!

"Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy shit … what a ride!" –Anonymous

If I were to do something extreme, outrageous it would be to pursue singing as a career. At the moment I’m still to practical for that, but that is a dream of mine. What is your extreme?

When I first started GenPink my first goal for myself was to find some fellow twenty something, non-mommy, female bloggers. The first person I found that fit this description was Zandria. I found her blog via BlogHer. I was immediately intrigued by her 101 Things in 1001 Days List (I still plan on doing this). Over the past year I have kept up with her blog and have since found a huge network of other twentysomethings as well. I knew that since Zandria was my first internet blogging buddy that I definitely wanted her to guest write this series commemorating my first year.

This guest post was written by Zandria, a contributing editor of BlogHer and expert twentysomething blogger.

When I started writing my blog over five years ago – at the age of 22 – I was in the midst of a full-blown quarterlife crisis. I was taking college classes but I didn’t know what in the world I wanted to do; I was working in a call center (a job that I hated, but I made decent money); I was just beginning to feel normal again after having major surgery on my back the previous year to correct scoliosis (a procedure that left me with permanent steel rods attached to my spine); and to top it off – due to all the stress, the worry, to my feeling of powerlessness – I’d lost thirty pounds due to restricting my food intake.

That’s the state I was in when I started blogging. I was officially a mess.

The reason I started writing online was because I’d decided to take a semester off from college. I was leaving my home in Virginia to spend a few months with my aunt and uncle in southern California, and I wanted a way for family and friends to easily keep up with what I was doing while I was gone.

I was granted a leave of absence from my job, I drove cross-country by myself, and I stayed in California long enough to get my head together – at least “together” enough to feel ready to go back to Virginia and resume college classes the next semester. I completed my last two years of school, and I spent one of those four semesters in a study-abroad program in Amsterdam.

My quarterlife crisis? It was all about searching. I spent many hours on the internet, looking at career options, reading about people who had made big, life-changing decisions. I wanted to know how and why they ended up where they did.

I didn’t know WHERE I wanted to be, or WHO I wanted to be. I thought if I discovered the answer to at least one of those questions (but preferably both), I’d be well on my way to being happy. That’s what I would say to myself, and to other people, all the time: “I just want to be happy. I’ll move wherever I need to move, I’ll do whatever I need to do, as long as I’m happy.”

Throughout my mid-twenties, I remained in crisis mode – just not to same extent. I was able to regain some of the weight I’d lost. I returned to California after I graduated from college and ended up staying for a year. Then I moved to the metropolitan DC area in the fall of 2006, which is where I still am today.

Last summer, not long after my 27th birthday, I said that I had survived my quarterlife crisis. What had changed? How did I reach that conclusion? It’s because – although I still don’t know what I want to do with my life – I’ve reached a level of acceptance. My job isn’t perfect, but I work for a nonprofit that has a great mission, and with co-workers who believe in making a difference. I don’t live in a fancy house, but I do live in a safe, fun area, with a roommate that I like. I’m no longer stick-thin (thank God), but now I work out on a regular basis and I’m more comfortable with my body than I’ve ever been in my life.

Having accepted my life doesn’t mean I’m 100% content with where I am, but that’s okay. I’m growing, I’m adapting, I’m changing, and I’m keeping my eyes (and options) open. In the meantime, I’m not settling. I’m living.

bal·ance
–noun
1. a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc.
2. the power or ability to decide an outcome by throwing one’s strength, influence, support, or the like, to one side or the other.

First I will start with saying I’ve had fun picking each letter for my ABCs project, some words have come very easy and some were a bit of struggle. Balance was one of the first words I picked to describe life as a twentysomething. Balance is something that we struggle with on a daily basis.

When I began thinking of who I wanted to write this post, I knew I wanted someone who could provide some wisdom on the topic. We all know the problem: we are trying to juggle too many things. I wanted someone who could shed some light on the subject for us. I immediately thought of Tiffany Monhollon. I’ve been a follower of her thought provoking blog Little Red Suit for quite some time. She is also a contributing author on several other sites, including the newly launched Brazen Careerist.

Balance means different things to different people. Some devote their careers to it. Others say it’s a myth. Most just want it, whether or not they think it’s really real. We talk about it a lot - different ideas on how to achieve it in our work, how to make it better in our lives. We talk about balance between work and home. Balance in our finances. Balance in our commitments. Balance in media coverage. Balance in politics. Balance. So it helps to know: what does balance look like?

Balance basically boils down to two things: omission and commission. What we choose to do and what we choose not to do. And both are important. Equally.

Tonight, for me, this is what balance looked like: watching a Barbara Walters special about the royal family, cuddled under a blanket with my fiance by my side and my laptop casually at hand. Instead of worrying about the floor of the bathroom that flooded the other day (fans are in place, I’ve done all I can for now). Instead of starting to address the hundreds of wedding invitations that came in today and need to go out in a week. It means calling my friend back to chat. It means not obsessing over my blog for one night. And going to bed before midnight.

It means not worrying that there’s no five-step formula for living a balanced life, even though if there were, I would have a lot easier time writing this post.

The truth is, I have a pretty typically busy twentysomething life: I don’t exactly have balance down yet. The best I get some days is go, go, go, crash. Sometimes, that’s the best I can approximate balance. But hey, I’m trying. And I think that’s the key to balance. Working at it.

So tonight, balance is about writing a short post instead of a long one. Smiling in the grocery line, no matter how long it was. Spending time on relationships. Giving myself time to do all the things in the few hours after work that make my life worth working for. Living my life. Being present in it.

Give yourself permission to find your balance. And then look for it. Wherever in the wild blue that takes you.

Balance for me is about not always taking the whole world on, learning to delegate and prioritize "must do" over "kinda want to do" items. Stopping to play a silly song when I get too stressed and taking time to just say hey to the people in my life. How do you achieve balance in your life?

On this day for celebrating love, this piece of advice written by my lovely friend (and college roommate) Olivia is perfect:

if you’re anything like me, you’ve had your fair share of unhealthy relationships. the thing is, that’s okay, as long as you pay attention to what it is you are supposed to learn from each situation. bad relationships are an invaluable opportunity to learn about yourself, about what you want out of life and love and relationships. there is no better way to learn what you truly want and need than to experience what you don’t want.

so i’m hoping to impart a little bit of what i’ve learned from my personal experience. i have found these things to be key to my happiness and to the health of my relationship with my husband. you might consider this somewhat of a relationship checklist – the staples of a healthy relationship. make sure they’re on your list too.

equality:

it is so so important that you and your partner be equals. on so many levels.

you don’t want to be in a relationship where one of you likes the other more or less.

say, for instance, that you like your partner more than he (or she) likes you. you will constantly be fighting for his time, his attention, his love. he will be annoyed at best and will inevitably start pushing you away. this is an incredibly painful situation, and incredibly dangerous for your self worth.

please listen to me when i tell you that there is no better feeling in the world than knowing that your partner loves you and appreciates you just as much (no more, no less) than you love and appreciate him.

respect:

i’m talking about real respect. i promise you it comes naturally when you truly love each other equally. you don’t have to work at it, you just do it. you put each other first, you communicate about the important stuff, you don’t hurt each other. ever. you would never want to.

trust:

trust is what happens when you know that you are respected and loved as an equal in your relationship. you cannot be in a successful relationship unless you know, deep down in your heart and soul and bones and gross inside parts, that you can trust your partner with your heart. it’s a scary thing, i know, to give someone that kind of power. but be sure that it is an amazing gift to be able to do such a thing.

communication:

everyone says it because it’s true: communication is key to any relationship.

talk to your partner and make sure that you’re on the same page about the important stuff. (first, you might need to take some time to figure out what it is that is really important to you.)

always discuss big decisions. be willing to compromise. articulate your thoughts, your opinions, your emotions. talk about your day, too. and don’t forget to listen.

teamwork:

okay. this is common sense. you and your partner are in a relationship. you need to be on the same team. if you’re not on the same team, one of you will always be losing. help each other through the hard stuff, and celebrate each other’s victories. work together. you are in this together. act that way.

laughter:

don’t take yourself or each other too seriously. please. be silly. be goofy. be you. life is fun. enjoy it. nothing in life is worth getting all worked up over.

i’m not trying to say that life is all sunshine and roses. bad things happen. times get hard. but that’s when you need to remember that you’re on the same team. there’s nothing you can’t get through together.

these things are priceless. do not underestimate their value.

but this is important too: know who you are and what you deserve, and do not settle for anything – ANYTHING – less.

be able to recognize when a relationship is not right and then get out of it. why would you stay? your partner should lift you up, hold your hand, be your friend, and make you smile. not cry — unless you are crying happy tears. and you should return the favor. i’m telling you that the fairy tale is real. it exists. don’t be afraid to go out and get it.

Happy Valentine’s Day! May you feel loved and cherished.

For today’s twenty something advice series I figured I’d point you in the direction of the experts. I am doing this for 2 reasons: #1 though it’s always great to give fellow twenty somethings advice sometimes it’s nice to hear from someone who has already experienced this stage in life and #2 my to do list is entirely too full right now and blogging falls last of the list of priorities.

So without further adu I give you: Things I wish I’d known when I was younger

There are a lot of great pieces of advice here. My personal favorite is Waiting to do something until you can be sure of doing it exactly right means waiting for ever. Which point resonates with you the most?

I have always been intrigued to read "I wish I had known" type articles. I figure why not learn from other’s life lessons.