Eight Things I've Learned As an Adult

To commemorate their birthdays, some would write the number of things they’ve learned according to their age. I am not going to do that. You seriously want me to come up with more than 40 something stuff?

Let’s just stick to the eight most important things I’ve learned as an adult. It’s more than eight, but in my book, they are the bestest things. Bear with me.

1. My Parents Rock. No. They Are My Rock.

Sure, there was a time in our lives when we wish our parents would just leave us alone or disappear in the middle of the night, stuff like that. We were all teenagers once. Hello.

I got older and went through several ups and downs; it’s when I learned that there are only TWO people who will never ever desert me no matter what – MY PARENTS.

We may have our share of arguments, fights, misunderstandings and such, but at the end of the day, my parents support me unconditionally. And I have to include my wonderful siblings. They are so throwing tantrums, I forgot to mention them. Doh. 

I love them all to the moon and back!

2. My Bestest Accomplishment - My Son

We all go through life wondering what we have accomplished, forgetting the essentials.

I used to think that I would be a failure as a single mom. As it turns out, my son brought out the best in me. Raising him was the greatest feat I have ever done in my whole life. He may not be the awesomest son one could ever hope for, to me, he’s the best thing that ever happened. 

Because of him, I’ve learned that in order not to get disappointed, I should never expect anything. Nothing at all. 

When are you going to buy me a branded purse?

Mom, you take the public commute. The branded purse would look like a knock-off. 

Bitch has a point. 

3. The More the Merrier. Not True. Few Friends Matter. 

When I was younger, I love having lots of friends, thinking that the more friends one has, the better. 

No. Not true at all. 

As you grow older, you will realize that you don’t really need lots of friends. You need QUALITY friends who will be there no matter what. Sure, these few selected friends can be judgmental bitches, but hey, they will never abandon you in times of trouble. 

That’s good enough to know. 

4. What Other People Say Don’t Count

Live life as you wish. The others can screw themselves. They don’t know what you go through each day. They can judge you for as long as they want;what matters is that you do whatever you want, and be happy about it. 

Life is too short to worry about what others will say. Do what you want, be who you are, and the world can fuck itself for all you care. 

5. Material Things Don’t Really Count

We spend so much time working. Sweating it out literally and figuratively, day in and day out, to make both ends meet. We always try to give the best to our family; buying them stuff we thought would make them happy, not really understanding that material things fade. 

What our family needs is quality time. 

It doesn’t matter whether it’s just a simple bonding at home, or an occasional movie and dinner now and then. The material things lose its value eventually, but the time we give to our loved ones, they will always treasure.

6. Love is Not the Be All and End All of Life

I used to love the idea of being in love. I was a hopeless romantic. I think I still am. 

Ehh. 

I can now look back at the past loves and laugh about it and wonder, the hell did I fall in love with that jerk. Those kinds of things. 

I’ve learned that while having someone to love and be loved back is great, being alone isn’t so bad after all. Life isn’t just about boyfriend or girlfriend. There’s more to life if we just open our eyes and set our priorities right. 

7. Action Movies Can Get Boring

I think it goes with aging. I used to love gory action movies. Now, am just bored to death. Hands and legs being sawn off. Boring. Death defying stunts. Horror movies. Boring. Boring. Boring. I’ve learned that as priorities change when we get older, and so do our interests. 

I used to hate James Bond. Sean Connery is old and I hate his British accent. 

Now, heck, I’m looking for a British editor! And I want to marry Daniel Craig! 

8. Kids Are The Best

Being an ESL teacher for more than five years in Korea taught me the value of loving kids other than my own. I used to hate kids. Seriously. To me, they are annoying little creatures created to torment me. 

Now, that I deal with adults daily, I’ve learned to appreciate children as better co-workers.

They throw tantrums, which is understandable because they are children. They change their minds as often as the wind blows, because that's what kids do! They play favorites, because children are entitled to have favorites. If anything, children don’t do positive scripting. They don't have to. They don't need to. 

I hate your dress. You look silly, teacher Mj. (Don't you just love the kids' honesty?)

Aw, you look fabulous yourself. (Good gad, where the hell is her fashion sense?!!! - Adult problems)