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A post shared by Ashley Novak (@anovak4) on Dec 4, 2018 at 10:38am PST

First, I would say: be gentle with yourself.

You’re going to think you have an idea of who you are in your 20s, but you actually have no idea.

You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to break hearts, and your heart is going to get broken. You’re going to get smacked in the face with some serious sh*t—sh*t people don’t usually have to deal with until they’re 50. You’re going to lose a parent, and nothing in life will prepare you for that.

You’re going to lose people you thought were your immediate support system, while others you’d never imagine will come out of the woodwork to piece your heart back together. Those are the real winners.

You’re going to question who you are. You’re going to allow people who don’t belong in your life to stay in your life. Pay attention to the red flags, and cut them out quicker.

You’re going to accomplish things you never even initially had on your “20-something bucket list.”

You’re going to learn. You’re going to be so different at 29 than you were at 27, 25, 23, and 20—and it’s going to be beautiful. Enjoy this process. Look forward to the growth. Learn to say “no” more. Set your boundaries, and stick to them. This goes with anything—business, personal, and romantic.

Don’t define who you are based off of what others think about you.

Know your worth, know yourself. Take care not only of your physical health, but your mental health too; they are directly correlated, and you can’t have one without the other.

Travel. There is no better education than culturing yourself. People will be getting married and start having kids around you, getting job promotions—remember there is no time limit nor race.

Just keep doing you and being the best version of yourself. All will fall into line.

Oh yeah, and all those things you’d worry about late at night? They aren’t going to matter in a year, and you’ll be laughing your ass off remembering how much you let that petty stuff upset you.

Respect yourself, otherwise others will not. Embrace all aspects of who you are, no matter how weird they are to others. Take responsibility of your life.

And above all things, love yourself.

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