10 Life Lessons...Learned the Hard Way

So many things in life I have learned the hard way. I thought I would share some of the mistakes I have made along the way and lessons learned. Some of these are lighthearted and others are pretty common sense, hope you enjoy.

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1. Never lend out something that you would be upset if you never got back. I would like to be able to trust everyone I meet. I would also like to think that everyone has the best of intentions. There is of course some people in life that have bad intentions, but often life just happens. I once lent out a TI83+ graphing calculator to someone in my class so that they could get their homework done. The TI83+ graphing calculator went missing and I was never paid back for the graphing calculator, ended up spending about $100 for a new one while in high school.

2. Drinking fountains may not always be the most sanitary. Back in 5th grade I was very thirsty after recess and drank a lot of water. After putting my stuff away, I glanced back over at the drinking fountain and someone just then spit their used gum out right unto the spout of the drinking fountain.
   

3. Texting while doing activities that require thought may not be the best idea. If you are texting and walking you may end up walking into someone, or you might be that person who walks right into a pillar at school head first.

4. Never let a cashier convince you that one of their plastic bags can hold 25 pounds. The bag might rip and the canned food you bought to donate might end up rolling all over the parking lot. You will then be chasing rolling cans while trying to avoid moving cars.
   

5. Cats love attention, beware of payback if you don’t give them attention when they want it. You might find yourself the proud new owner of carpet scratched and chewed up by your door.

6. Be careful who you let into your heart. The pain of a broken heart is not easily healed.

7. Double check that the plastic coffee lid is on all way before you pick it up and take a sip. The wonderful coffee may leave its mark on your clothing and the heat will not easily be forgotten.

8. Bug spray is a must for night activities outside. I once skipped the bug spray and ended up with 25 mosquito bites on my face, arms, and legs. The bug bites became welts that took 2 weeks to go away.

9. Tell people in your life who you care about that you love them often. You never know when it will be the last time that you see them. Life can be so fragile when we least expect it. I have personally gone through the loss of a loved one unexpectedly. The worst thing to think back on is regrets.

10. Once you have pushed a car door to shut it, think of it as shut and use the actual door handle to open it back up if you need to. It may seem faster to catch the door before it is completely shut with your fingers and pull it back open. However, the pain inflicted on your fingers when you are unsuccessful in doing this will reinforce that it was not worth it. You will also have weeks of a black fingernail or two to remind you of that.