By Claire Golden
This is my last post for PSU Chronicles, and I’m going to miss being a blogger here. But since I’m not a student anymore, I couldn’t stay around forever. My life has changed so much since I started at PSU. I’ve been diagnosed with and treated for OCD, had my gallbladder removed, made some friends, lost other friends, came out as bi, got engaged to the love of my life (whom I met while working at PSU’s Learning Center), got a degree, and got a book published. But I’ve also cried in many PSU bathrooms, failed homework assignments, had an existential crisis (or three) and wondered what on earth I was doing.
A lot of the things I learned in college weren’t academic, and I think they’re the most valuable lessons I took away from my time at PSU. So I thought I would share the top 23 things I have learned in my 23 years on this good ole planet. (I forgot how old I was and had to ask my fiancé to confirm.)
1. Say “I love you” to people more often.
2. Every bad moment will pass.
3. Learn to be okay with good enough.
4. If you wait for something to be perfect, you will be waiting forever, so go after your dreams.
5. Don’t procrastinate things on your bucket list, because life is unpredictable.
6. Take care of your body — go to the doctor when you need to!
7. Do the things you want with your hair, it grows back! (I am rocking a DIY pixie cut at the moment.)
8. Approach things with a sense of humor and learn to laugh at yourself, kindly.
9. Reach out to people you think are cool, because you might just make a new friend.
10. Learn new things just to experience being a beginner again! (I am working on my third language, German, as well as how to read tarot cards.)
11. Do things that you’re bad at if you like doing them: draw, sing, dance, write.
12. Be generous with your compliments, because you never know what they will mean to someone.
13. It’s okay to ask questions, big or small. And it’s okay if you sound silly while asking them.
14. Just because your parents or family do things one way doesn’t mean you have to do things that way. This applies to little things like loading the dishwasher and to big things like religion.
15. Waste time with the people you love, because that’s not actually wasted time.
16. If you can, live somewhere you love, because every day will feel like a vacation. (Shoutout to Portland, from a former Midwesterner.)
17. It’s okay to be childish…collect stuffed animals, read Middle Grade or Young Adult books, color a picture.
18. Don’t be normal just for the sake of being normal, but also don’t be weird just to “stand out.” Find your happy medium.
19. If you get excited about the little things, then life will become much more exciting: a great glass of ice water, a spinny door, a really shiny pigeon.
20. Write down your feelings to help make sense of them.
21. Send letters to people you love — it’s fun to have a pen pal and it will make both of your days to get mail.
22. Reading books helps me escape, but also makes me a more empathetic person as I learn about new things.
23. Probably the most important thing of all that I’ve learned: It’s okay not to know the answer.
Bonus tip: Hugging a fluffy animal makes everything better.
