18 Lessons I’ve Learned Since My High School Graduation

Oh wow, look at baby Andee at 18 years old! It’s hard to believe that was TWENTY years ago, and today, I wanted to share 18 life lessons I have learned since I was 18 years old and graduating high school. I hope you enjoy and share with your favorite graduate.

1. Lean into your passions. Schoolwork, your career, etc will consume all the time you’ll give it, but find what ignites joy and passion in your soul and leave margin in your schedule to pursue it too.

2. Choose your friends wisely. There will be some people you meet along the way that steal your joy, suck your energy and leave you feeling less-than. You can love them from afar. Choose to surround yourself with close friends who leave you feeling a better version of yourself and challenge you to be a little more like Christ each day.

3. Remember you can do hard things by yourself. You can put together that piece of furniture. You can eat at the restaurant at a table for 1. You can walk into church by yourself.

4. Seasons of heartbreak will sanctify you. And you will get through them.

5. Be generous with your time and money. They are both gifts from the Lord for you to steward well.

6. Don’t drink too much. I promise you’ll regret how you acted, what you said, and how you feel tomorrow.

7. What other people think of you is none of your business. Move on.

8. When in doubt, don’t post that on social media.

9. Cultivate a discipline of quiet time, scripture and prayer in your life now. Make the time.

10. Your mom and dad can’t make you go to church on Sundays. Go anyways. Finding a church family and community to worship with, serve alongside, and do life with will be one of the biggest blessings of your life.

11. Plan for your future, and then hold it before God with open hands. He often surprises us with completely new and wild plans and dreams. I promise that following His lead will be the craziest, yet most fulfilling and amazing ride of your life. I thought I wanted to own a dance studio in Spring Hill, TN, and here I am in technology sales and growing a creative small business in Raleigh, NC. I thought I would be married with 2 kids by now, and the Lord has blessed my life richly in singleness and made me “Aunt DeeDee” to quite a few precious children.

12. Don’t wait for (a man, marriage, children, the perfect job, enough money, etc etc etc) to live life to the fullest NOW. Don’t allow waiting to rob you of your present joy.

13. Humility is an attractive quality.

14. Read good books. TV is overrated.

15. Mom and dad actually do know quite a bit and you should listen to them. In fact, one day you may actually enjoy hanging out with them and they will become 2 of your closest friends.

16. Start saving money now. Two words: compound interest.

17. The world will tell you that you have to look, be, and act a certain way. Don’t listen.

18. Being a Christ-follower is hard and will cost you a lot. Friend, it will be the greatest decision you will ever make. God became human so that He could fully understand your struggles. Not only that, but through Jesus’ death on the cross, you now have a hope unlike all others. He has more grace than you have sin in you.