Bus Life Lessons?

Today I was on the bus with a bunch of friends, just before we boarded I sang "Help" By The Beatles and this elderly woman stopped me and said

"Isn't it wonderful how you know all the words and you're so young" 

I was really flattered, such a simple compliment and it truly made my day. When we got on the bus we sat near the woman (who's name I never learnt) and she told us some really valuable life lessons. 

 

Live While You're Young. 

She said that you spend more time being old than you do being young, life is too short to make hard and fast decisions. But, she also said that you should think hard about the decisions you DO make as you will live with them for the rest of your life. One day you will die, it's inevitable, it may be scary but there is no escaping it. So yes, you could die at any point, and I've made the decision that I'm going to live everyday as though it may be my last. 

No, I'm not going to do something crazy and life changing everyday. I don't have the money to go sky diving or sailing every weekend, but I do have the time to watch a movie that changes my life, give a compliment, read a book, write a blog post, hang with friends, hell I can play with my dog! I want to live with no regrets!

Self Respect

She said to appreciate yourself and respect yourself. One way to live without regret is to think about the decisions you make and think 'will I regret this later' if the answer is yes- don't do it. Self respect has a lot to do with the decisions you make. If a person is trying to pressure you into something that you don't want to do, make sure you say no. Respect yourself enough to know your boundaries! However, if that person is smoking hot and you've been waiting for this moment your whole life and its completely consensual, go for it! Live! Go get some!

And remember to appreciate yourself, if you know you are good at something then appreciate that about yourself, don't dumb yourself down or act modest. Yell it at the top of your lungs! 'IM GOOD AT READING!' Let the world know!

Don't Take Things For Granted

The final thing this elderly stranger said to me is to appreciate the things you would normally take for granted. Next time you are sitting in school wishing you could be somewhere else remember that you are so privileged to be there. I, am so guilty for this. I blame school for not letting me live the life I want to. I could be out in the real world, protesting or playing music or finding true love! Instead I'm learning how to use tan cos and sin. But this lady completely changed my perspective, I go to school for free, I get to act, sing, write all the time, others don't get this. I'm going to try and appreciate school. It may be a struggle at first, but I just need to remind myself that others aren't so lucky.

This post wasn't trying to make any readers feel guilty for living in a first world country, actually it was the opposite. I just want everyone to live a life that they would look back and smile at. Live everyday like it is a Hollywood film, a film that you'd love to watch one day.

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” - John Lennon