「one year older and 4 lessons i've learnt.」

lesson 1 "norms of society have not always the right answer for you" - I’ve learnt that our society is ruled by unspoken norms. Mostly norms are about how you "should" live your life. And so, I’ve learnt the great value of making active lifestyle choices. I want to live a life most true to myself. No ones else are living your life but you. Not your friends, not your partner, not your parents, not your siblings - but you. If you want it, who cares if it's against the norm or not.

I ask myself:

• Do I really want to do this, or is this something other people except from me? (examples: getting a certain degree or a certain career, having children, etc)

• Do I really make an active choice now, or is this just something I do because everyone else are doing it? (examples: owning a house, getting married, etc)

• Are these really my opinions, or are they someone else's? (examples: opinions passed down from a caregiver, teacher, family members, etc)

lesson 2 "imperfection and growth is necessary" - I’ve learnt to value things that are imperfect and also that growth is essential. I’ve never seen myself as a perfectionist, but I know how perfectionism can make one give up things in life because of ones high standards ("it doesn't matter, i just don't have the talent") or because of the fear of making a fool of oneself ("people will think i'm stupid"). So what if people think you're stupid? Most of the time - no one will care. If I was a perfectionist I wouldn’t have dared to make music and started to produce on my own - because, to be honest, my production quality wasn’t that great in the beginning (i had lousy equipment and i had started to make music seriously). I still keep those videos up to remind me of my growth. I will always make room for improvements and I think one has to drop that self-judgement as a newbie, otherwise you can’t be great. be happy that you're a beginner and be proud that you dared to start. the master was once a beginner.

lesson 3 "less is more and time is precious" - I figured out that there is so much joy in having less and reducing the non-essential things in life. Why make it more complicated? Reducing freed up so much time and energy for me. Actually, I think having the time is a big part of being happy. To be able to decide about your own time and making room for things that’s the most essential in your life. To be able to have a hot beverage and slow down.

lesson 4 "embracing change and being thankful" - My last lesson I’ve learnt is that some things changes and some things don’t. I’ve learnt to let go because I know change it’s inevitable. I’ve learnt to embrace the new with open arms. I’ve felt gratitude for all that remains. I’ve learnt that pain will eventually pass and I’ve learnt that the present is the best place to be.

so these 4 lessons are thing's i've learnt in the past 10 years. being one year older makes me reflect on life. i'm humble and thankful! :)