Things I've realized....

There are some things I've come to realize over the years:

1. Not everyone will see things the way I do. And that's okay.
2. Maturity does not come with age
3. When life seems perfect/great, something will come and try to ruin it.
4. There is always a nice way to tell people something important. Even when it could hurt their feelings
5. Don't let your passions rule your reasoning
6. People are stupid
7. Change is a good thing
8. Life is never fair, get over it

Now I've known these things. Don't get me wrong. It's not like I just noticed them. But lately they've been cropping up more and more in my recent life. And every once in awhile I notice that I do these things or whatnot. But I try not to. I realize that my way isn't always the best or most efficient. So letting others help me or tell me other ways of doing things isn't trying to demean me or say I'm not intelligent. It just means there is never one way to look at something and thus, creates an opportunity to learn. That goes along with maturity, realizing that you aren't always right and take the criticism with stride. Learn from it. Don't let one thing impede your life. Allowing your passions to take control of your life never really benefits anyone. There is a difference between being passionate about something and letting your passions control your actions. We can't always control our atmosphere/environment, but we can always control ourselves/responses. In a world full of chaos, serenity can be achieved by taking a deep breath and stepping back to get a full view of what you are looking at. Self evaluate every once in awhile. Take a firm hold of your life and say "This is where I NEED to be and this is what I need to do to achieve it" It isn't as hard as we make it seem in our minds.
Things and people come and go in our lives. Try not to let it bother you. You may think that someone/thing will always be a part of your life. Well to be honest...that's not true at all. People I thought would be in my life forever aren't anymore. And people I least expected to be a part of my life are now a significant part. Specific people come at very specific times, it is never random. They do their part in either helping you to progress or they stunt your progression. But either way you have learned something. You either figure out that you don't need that or you find out you needed help more then you would have guessed. But either way those people have served their purpose. Accepting that fact, that you cant always have what you want, will greatly be to your advantage. It can help you with later struggles in life, to realize not everything is under your control.
Change is hard. Rarely have I noticed an easy change in my experiences. Change is usually meaningful either for better or worse. But still important. Learning from change or trials that change us is always important. We may not like the changes but either way we have to accept them. Why deny that something is different? It is inevitable for change to occur. We cannot stop it. Nor should you try to stop change. People/things are always going to change or be different. Now trying to elicit a change in a person, other then yourself, is difficult. Trying to force change were none is wanted or needed will never get a positive response. Instead what usually occurs is a negative one. Either they will tenaciously stick to the thing you are trying to change about them or they will push you away. And neither party will profit. Instead it just creates a void in that relationship. For someone to change it has to be their own will/wanting. I have never met someone who wanted to change because people told them to. Now changing for another person rarely works out. Because if that person leaves or is no longer a part of your life then what? You changed for them and it didn't matter. They didn't appreciate that you changed. Always make changes to better yourself. Never to try and please someone else. People will learn to like and accept you for who you are, unconditionally. If they don't then they aren't important. Why be friends with someone who doesn't appreciate your friendship? What would be the point of compromising yourself for them? They hold you in no value. So simply remove them from your life. It's that simple.