Six Life Lessons from my early 20’s

Hey, friend!  I wanted to take a break from shopping and get a little “life lesson” feel in today’s blog so i’m sharing six life lessons from my early 20’s!  I am very blessed to have lived a great life, so far; and I cherish where I am today mainly because I worked so hard for everything I have and have accomplished.  I have had the opportunity to finish school, live a year as Miss Louisiana USA, and live in Los Angeles, which is where Dean and I met, for five years.  Living on my own in college was great for some learning some life lessons; but I also still had my parents an hour away.  When I moved 2500+ miles across the country by myself, reality set in that I had to adult and make some smart decisions if I wanted to be successful; so, over all that time, I have learned some valuable lessons that I want to share with you in case it brings any benefit you at any point in your life!

Shop my look:

Shoes linked are similar but these are available on Mi.iM and use code TEAMWEST for 15% off. I have a recent dedicated blog about the shoes if you want to know more!  Top comes in 4 colors.  Size down one in jeans.

| Save money |

Ok, for starters, you’re like, “say what?”!  Especially after I just linked my outfit lol!  (Use it for inspo, you don’t HAVE to buy it!)  Anyway, I get it – when you’re in college, you barely make any money to be able to save it.  If you have a campus job, you know that’s right; but if not, you may have an off-campus job making a little extra.  Or you’re like me and have both because you’ve already realized this is very important.  Regardless the case, make a commitment to put away a certain amount of money per week.  I had a campus job as a personal trainer, which barely paid anything; but, I also bartended at a local sports bar to makes extra money.  For a college student, I was living pretty sweet; and I committed to putting away a certain amount every work shift, which is the main reason I was able to move Los Angeles to pursue my career in acting.  Have self-discipline to know your limits; and, if you don’t have self-discipline, there are tons of apps these days that help you manage your money.  Search out which one is best for you and make yourself commit.  You’re on your phone half of the day anyway so use a little of that time to better your lifestyle.  Plus, we all should have the amount put away that would cover six months of our bills if we were unable to work at all.  In college, your bills are low; but if you start saving here, it will become habit and you can increase this limit as your bills go up after getting a car, house, insurance, etc.  Btw, HUGE TIP, when you buy a house, pay one extra house note a year and you will decrease your mortgage by 8-10 years.  I know, we don’t all have an extra mortgage payment laying around, but you don’t have to.  Just divide one payment by 12 (months) and pay that amount extra per month.  For example, if your mortgage is $1200/month.  $1200 divided by 12 is $100, so add that $100 on each month and pay $1300/month and over the year, you will have payed an extra mortgage bill.  I’m was so excited to learn that when we bought a house!

| GET A JOB |

To follow up from the above lesson, find a job!!!!!  There are so many options out there, esp with today’s advancements and technology!  I know school takes up a lot of time and can be very demanding.  I was in nursing school while personal training and bartending; and that’s why I only bartended on the weekends.  Don’t exhaust yourself; but, be honest, and don’t be lazy in knowing what you can handle.  My parents could have helped me, and they did if I was in an emergency bind, but they did their part and helped me become the woman I am today; so this was their turn to reward themselves and start paying attention to retirement.  I took things on one thing at a time.  First, I took over my car note, then my rent, etc. until I was fully supporting myself.  There’s always student loans to help but I JUST finished paying mine off.  If you can, by any means, get a job and pay your tuition without loans, I highly suggest to do it.  You will learn so much responsibility and value your earnings so much more!  I feel like that is why I am so proud to treat myself to have nice things now in life because when Dean and I first moved back to Louisiana, we had a tv stand made out of cardboard boxes.  No joke!  Honestly, we were very proud of that tv stand haha, but we can look back and laugh at it now because we work so hard to earn the things that we do.  And don’t get my wrong, everyone needs a little help every now and then; and both of our parents were here for us when we did.  However, we made sure to pay them back double in any way we could because we know they work just as hard for what they earn.

| Build Credit |

I cannot stress this enough!!!  Honestly, I didn’t even realize that I was building my credit when I was lol! Like I said, I had student loans and, in paying those back, I built credit.  But in the big picture, when you go to buy a house, you want to have much more to your credit history than just student loans. You want to show your validity; and the process only gets harder and harder.  Now, although I’m suggesting to get a credit card, I’m suggesting the one that we started out with from My Premier Credit Card.  Disadvantage is that they have a $7/month service charge.  Honestly, I don’t know if they still have that because it’s been a while since we had that card; but that was the only downfall.  We were advised by a banker to get this card because it builds credit and they report monthly to all three credit companies.  They even have a very beneficial blog – Premier Prespectives.  Plus, I loved that the limit on this card was only $300; so there was no way we could get out of control with spending because I know my shopping habits ;).  This card served it’s purpose for us; and, now, we prefer reward cards because we like to get cash back for Christmas spending at the end of the year or, if you’re a traveler, get the card that offers flight rewards.  Any card will do if you do your research to see which ones benefit you most but read the small print!!!  Overall, definitely focus on building credit to get approved for a house, car, etc. later.  Just for the record, I’m NOT saying to get a credit card and go on a huge shopping spree!  In fact, keep the smallest balance possible because usually after a certain period of time, the interest rates get very high!  Keep in mind these are all my opinions and things that really worked for Dean and I; so, if you have anything that worked for you, I would love your feedback, as well!  Btw, this is in no way sponsored or in collaboration with Premier Credit Card.

| Eat healthy & Workout |

There definitely are not enough words to explain the importance of this one!!!  I refused to gain the “freshman 15” and that may have even had a hand in me becoming a personal trainer haha!  1 in 4 college students gain about 15 pounds their first semester.  If this is healthy muscle, rock on; but if this is “happy” or “stress” weight, take control of your life.  Your body is your car that you’re driving for the rest of your life – keep it fueled, keep the oil changed, keep the parts aligned, and inspect it often.  Make It A Lifestyle!!!!  I have workouts on this blog, including Full Body Core Workout, Leg Workout, and I will always be adding to the list, or you can youtube almost any workout possible whether you are in a gym, apartment, or your dorm.  There are zero excuses for workouts because even if you don’t have “time”, you can do 15 minutes.  If you don’t have 15 minutes, you need to step back, take a look at your priorities, and put yourself first.  Where there is a will there is a way; so make sure your body is getting the best quality food and routine workouts daily.  I will have a blog coming on quality of food; but I’m going to have to piece it up because I can go on for days lol!  For now, READ YOUR INGREDIENTS!  My motto: If you can’t read it, you can’t eat it!  That’s a good start to hold you all over until I get to write that one 🙂

Side note: using the term “freshman 15” is a saying.  I am not worried about your weight or what the scale says.  Working out will keep you healthier, happier, and MUCH LESS stressed for college life!

Shop my look:

Shoes linked are similar but these are available on Mi.iM in two colors and use code TEAMWEST for 15% off. Top is similar because mine is an oldie but goodie … saving that money 😉

 | Be Yourself |

This one is detrimental to our own happiness!  One of my favorite quotes, by Judy Garland, is “Always be a first rate version of yourself, and not a second rate version of someone else”.  There is only ONE YOU, only one!!!  Why would you ever want to hide that?  You were put on this earth for a reason; and, if you don’t know why, then find your “why”!  As Robin Williams would say, “You’re only give one little spark of madness.  You mustn’t lose it.”  This is such a beautiful quote because it’s that little spark of madness that makes us who we are; and if we lose that, then we lose ourselves.  AND the best way to lose yourself is to search for it in the eyes of others!  Don’t lose yourself in this crazy world because if you’re worried about people judging you, those are probably the people that you don’t need in your life.  It may be hard to take the toxic people out of your life; but in the long run, you will be happier and have no regrets!  Surround yourself with only positive people and always BElieve in YOUrself!

| Always Keep Learning |

The amount of things in this world that we don’t know that we don’t know is astronomical!  Sit on that for a sec!  There is sooooo much to learn out there!  Albert Einstein said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.”  This is so true!  Yes, you’re smart.  In fact, you’re a genius at something, but not everything so there is ALWAYS room to grow.  Read books, travel, study other cultures, google – you know you’re on your phone half of the day watching videos, playing games, or insta-stalking anyway; so, instead, go to google for a bit, and learn something new!  We can never learn to much, especially if we are using it to better ourselves!

I hope you all enjoyed some life lessons that I have learned!  Whether they were by mistake or just researching and experiencing, they were lessons that were vital to my life and made it better in some way!  I hope these help you, as well!  And if you have anything to add, you can always comment here or on Instagram because I love advice and life lessons from others!

Until next time,

XOXO,

Michelle

written by: Michelle West