Tag Archives: self-love

9 Lessons We Can Learn From Old People

27 Tuesday Jan 2015

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Everyone gets to be young, but not everyone gets to be old. As time goes by, we all age; we get weaker and more disease prone. Have you ever noticed in this generation, more so, that we disrespect elderly people or find them a nuisance to deal with? In traditional cultures, elders are honored and respected. It seems like in this day and age, people are addicted to the illusion that we can maintain our youth indefinitely; we simply don’t like the reminders that we are getting older.  For me, personally, older people serve as role models for the younger generation because they simply know more about life than we do. They have already crossed the phase of life that we are going through right now, yet people seem to be overlooking the importance of old people in our society. Here are nine lessons that can be learned from old people:

1. Just be yourself

Old people know who they are. They do whatever they want and get away with it simply because they have lived enough life to know that they don’t need to impress anyone. We don’t need to wait our whole lives to just be ourselves.

2. Genuine Wisdom

Old people give you advice for the sole purpose and intent of helping you. They care and want to help you out because they have also learned and gone through enough of life to give you advice and genuine wisdom.

 3. Love

You learn a lot about life the longer you live, and even more about love. I am just 23 years old, but the reason I know this is because I’ve seen this love in almost every older person I’ve encountered. They’ve been through enough to value love and share it with others.

4. Experience

We are all different and each of us has a unique life. Think for a moment about what has happened in your life so far. Now multiple that by at least 50 and you’ll eventually begin to see the value in an elder’s life experience. Old people have grown making many mistakes and facing consequences for them. They can teach you how to avoid the mistakes that they made so you may not have to go through the same experience.

 5. Priorities

Old people guide you in planning your life out because they already know what should be set as a priority and what shouldn’t be. It may get irritating, but the thing is that they have already faced the things which you are going through now and have attained so much knowledge about them with age. We tend to make social media our priority, when maybe we should reconsider and make the people we love our priority.  Think about the fact that they didn’t have Google, Wikipedia, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.  Props to them.

6. Perspective

I absolutely love listening to old people ramble about some amazing incidents in their journey of life. It gives me so much insight of lifestyle in their time. It is helpful knowing why things are the way they are in their present time; it gives perspective.

7. Family values

When you look at old people, you learn about family values such as respect, honesty, and forgiveness. These values you learn from them will help you to solidify your personal family bonds as well as teach you the importance of cherishing your loved ones.

8. Acceptance

Old people are way better at accepting difficult situations and disappoints in life. They simply know that life must go on. They help you cultivate acceptance despite the mishaps that come your way.  After all, they made it this far, and all they want is the same for you.

9) We are only getting older.

You need to realize that one day, if you are lucky, you might be in their shoes. This is why I stress to treat them with the same love and respect that you would want to be treated when you get older. If you are one of those people that disrespects your elders, finds them annoying, or thinks they are a burden to your life, maybe you should re-evaluate yourself and the kind of person you are. Sad to say, but you’ll only know how it feels if and when your time comes. I know myself, and I have the upmost love and respect for all my elders. I want to recognize and celebrate their sophistication and foresight to this journey of life. We are so busy growing up that we tend to overlook the fact that others are growing old. As I grow older, I hope I’m fortunate enough to show off my wrinkles – to show everyone how happy I am, what I made it through, and how wise these old people have made me.

Embracing “Only Child Syndrome”

08 Thursday Jan 2015

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Many people make assumptions; one of these includes what it’s like being an only child. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “You must be spoiled,” or “Don’t you get lonely?”

For the longest time, I was jealous that all my friends had a sibling that they could do everything with. I couldn’t tell you how badly I wanted a sibling, but often we don’t get what we want, so we have to work with what we got.

And, well, I’ve got myself. I realized that being an only child was actually a blessing in disguise when I finally learned how to embrace the benefits of having “only child syndrome,” as people would like to call it.

Being an only child taught me the most important skill of all: how to be comfortable being alone. Now, more than ever, in the first few years of adulthood, and consequently your 20s, you find that time for self-love. You take time to reflect and grow on your own.

As an only child, I have appreciated and valued alone time all throughout my life. It’s something that others crave and learn when the hustle of adulthood actually kicks in.

As you grow older, you will realize that after heartbreaks, failures, rejections and hardships, you will have to learn how to be comfortable alone. Sure, there will be people to support you, but ultimately it is up to you to get through it by yourself.

Solitude is a time for reflection, and in a world that is increasingly fast paced and competitive, solitude is meaningful and something to be treasured.

As an only child, you learn that you are your own competition. I grew up having to just compete with myself, and I can’t tell you how much that taught me. Competing with others can bring out the worst in your character, but competing with yourself can bring out the best in you and push you to improve yourself every single day.

I’ve grown up to serve others and be selfless, while simultaneously loving myself whole-heartedly. At an earlier age, I was taught to be completely content being my own best friend first. This quality has given me the strength to never depend on anyone, have expectations from anyone and most importantly, never lose myself in the process of it all.

I am not going to sit here and say that I haven’t done any of those things because let’s be real, we all have done at least one. But, it’s definitely allowed me to quickly bounce back from it all and reassured me that I can get through anything on my own since I have for most of my life. It has also taught me that by loving myself first, I can also love and care for others in the healthiest, most genuine, way possible.

I was grown up to be around adults at such a young age. It’s actually been quite beneficial because I find myself engaging in intellectual conversations. Growing up, every time I have had an issue of some sort, I didn’t have a sibling to resort to so I would always run to my momma. I can proudly say that she is one of my best friends. Being an only child has allowed me to develop an even closer bond with my parents and has given me the opportunity to thrive on my own with their unconditional love and support.

As an only child, who is an extreme extrovert, I have also developed lasting friendships throughout the years. However, the thing is, as most of us grow up, we realize the fewer friends we have, the better. I can say that I consider my close knit group of friends part of my family, since I don’t have any real siblings of my own.

I cherish and am appreciative of what I was given and blessed with, and I only hope that this motivates others to do the same. So, for those of you who do have an actual sibling, consider yourself grateful and embrace the benefits as well! I might be an eccentric only child who sometimes talks to herself, but I’ve learned to laugh and go along with the jokes and sometimes utterly ridiculous comments or assumptions that are made. And, well, for those of you who do manage to be stereotypical and judgmental, all I have to say is “You laugh because I’m different. I laugh because you are all the same.”