For the past couple months, I’ve been keeping track of the various pieces of advice and wisdomisms I come across. Some I recorded verbatim from the speaker’s mouth, others I paraphrase; some are from books or articles I’ve read, and just a few are from my own head.

**I used the long, lost Cambodia and Laos photos Molly finally posted from our travels almost exactly a year ago. They have nothing to do with this post, I just wanted to remember. Miss you, Molly, and I miss all this.

Without further ado and in no particular order…

The Best Advice I’ve Been Given, in 11 Parts:

1. When in doubt, go outside. Nothing will ever happen/change if you stay in.

If you want something out of the world, you have to put yourself in it.

2. Paths that cross will cross again.

I didn’t get it until recently. I cried buckets upon buckets of tears when parting ways with awesome people (just ask Jordan and Josh circa December 2010 at the Sydney airport). But then I realized that even though it seems unlikely, I will see the good ones again. It’s just how the universe works.

3. Stuff is worthless. You don’t need it.

4. Fake it til you make it (BUT don’t conform out of weakness and inattentiveness to your needs/wishes.)

Going through the physiological process of an emotion (e.g. smiling) can induce the experience and cognitive appraisal of that emotion. It’s science! If you want to be happier, pretend to be happier. That being said, sometimes we need to let ourselves feel suffering or grief.

5. When it comes to making decisions, you will never be absolutely certain. You can either trust yourself and your gut, or trust society/parents/peers, but either way, you just have to make a decision and go do it.

I could probably write an entire post on this (hmm that’s an idea…) because it’s so relevant and applicable, especially for people my age. We want so badly for there to be a “right” path. We want structure and objective truth when it comes to making big decisions, but more often than not there is no one right way to get where you want to be and there’s no one right thing to be.

6. If someone is being rude or seems annoyed or unhappy, it’s usually not because of you. They’re probably just having a bad day.

7. You can do anything for 6 months.

ANYTHING. Really. You don’t think you can handle it but you can.

8. When in doubt, especially while traveling, the answer should always be YES.

9. If your lover is leaving, you should change locations too.

A simple way to avoid feelings of abandonment, whether you were actually abandoned or not. It seems so obvious, but I needed someone to say it out loud to me.

10. If you want to be a writer, don’t write. Go do things, experience life, then the writing will come.

11. Everything is possible.

I love this one. Something about the syntax…Maybe it’s because of how it was translated by its original speaker, but “everything is possible” puts the individual’s control back into “anything can happen”. Because, yeah, anything can happen, but more importantly if you want it badly enough, you can make it happen.