17 Things I Learnt By 17

1. Most people don’t remember your biggest successes; people remember the impacts your smallest acts of kindness on them.

2. Take time to reflect on your day to day and find room for improvement. It's the most important skill for growth.

3. Emotions, regardless of origin or intention, are valid. Effect ≠ Intention!

4. Nobody cares as much about you as you do (with an exception of your mother).

5. Balance is essential. Too much of anything will just lead to unhappiness.

6. If you don't earn your own success, you will be forever indebted to those who give it to you. Simply achieving financial freedom does not grant you true freedom.

7. Learn from everything and everyone. There's a learning experience in everything, and if you learn from others' mistakes you have an easier time recognising them in yourself.

8. Every mistake, embarrassing moment, and flaw makes up a story worth telling. And when you speak about them they hurt less because your fault can edify others’ lives through your sharing! Thus, these things become good things.

9. Share more! Share deeply! Share vulnerably!

10. Be confident about what you're passionate in. Passion is infectious. And confidence can convince almost anyone of anything. If anyone thinks otherwise about your passion, they're not worth it.

11. Strangers are people too. I've my best stories from interacting with strangers now friends, and the most fascinating conversations from approaching the "guy sitting next to me". The general population is friendly and nice #strangerdanger. Be wary always though, and listen to your gut (this comes from the girl who talked to a cemetery keeper).

12. The most painful and scary things are the most worth it. The further you leave your comfort zone, the more you grow.

13. Courtesy does not make you a ‘fake’ person! The difference between inauthenticity and basic respect is your mindset and intention. Aim to be nice! Don’t judge others for being nice, even if the person on the receiving end isn’t worth the nicety.

14. Treat people the way you expect to be treated.

15. Grant everyone the benefit of doubt. Innocent until proven guilty, not vice versa.

16. When in doubt, just apologise — there's nothing to lose, even if you perceive that there was “nothing” to apologise for.

17. Nobody actually judges you for being alone unless they're insecure about their own aloneness.