Wattmag isn't the only one celebrating this month. Yours truly is turning TWENTY FOUR!

I may be turning 24, but I look nothing like it. I look like I'm twelve, sixteen when I have my glasses on. Don't worry about me though, when everyone else is looking all old and wrinkly, I'll still be looking young and fabulous!

In celebration of my birthday, I wanted to write the second article in my Life Lessons series talking about all the things I've learned during these twenty-four years one earth. A few of these are lessons told to me by others, the majority are things that I learned on my own and wished someone told me about.

Though these lessons are for everyone, I'm specifically writing this for the pre-teens and teenagers out there. I know that you're dealing with a lot, and I want you to at least be better off than I was back then.

So here they are, ten lessons I've learned in twenty-four years.

LESSON 1: Enjoy Your Childhood

I loved being a child, and if I'm honest with myself, I wish I was still one. I enjoyed all the "childish" things in my life, like cartoons, coloring, little responsibilities (you don't realize their little until you're older though). I wasn't one of those teenagers that were eager to be a grown up and acted that way, but I was looking forward to it. Looking forward to getting my degrees (notice the plural), having money, being able to buy all those cool toys on the commercials that say "You must be eighteen or older to call". I know I wasn't the only one watching those commercials thinking "Man, I can't wait to be eighteen!". Now that I'm an adult, I realize that things aren't exactly what I expected.

Let's face it, at some point as children, we all had high expectations of adulthood. And for a lot of us in our twenties, it's a huge disappointment so for. Nothing is as easy as we thought it would be and nothing makes sense.

Do you want money? You have to get a job. Want a well-paying job? Might have to get a degree...or two. But in order to get that degree, you need what? Money. And how do we get money again? Exactly! Or should we dive into the dreaded student loans? You see how frustrating that is? And I haven't even mentioned "experience" yet.

We hated when our parents told us what to do, and we couldn't wait to be adults so it would all stop.

See, when you're an adult, it isn't called "telling you what to do", it's called "giving advice". As kids, it was "Do your homework", "Clean your room!", "Get ready for school/church". As adults it's "I think you should do this job", "You should get a boyfriend", "I think it's time you two get married", "Better start having those babies, your eggs are gonna turn to dust". It sounds like simple advice and suggestions, and sometimes they're actually good things, but it's just as annoying as being told to clean your room.

I'm saying all this to say, enjoy your childhood. Soak in all the playtime with toys and your video games. Yes, adults can still play video games, but as a child, you won't be frowned upon because of it. Appreciate nap time! Though, if you can read this, you probably don't have nap times anymore. But if you have younger kids in your life, tell them to appreciate it! Revel in the time where your only responsibility is chores and homework, and not bills and tuition. Because the day will come when you'll miss it all.

LESSON 2: Everyone Has A Talent

At a very young age, I knew that I could draw and did it a lot. When I was about twelve, I was singing in my room and my mom was like "Hey, you can sing". Turns out I'm really good at it, I just don't do it to the best of my ability around people. Play my favorite band though, and I might just hit you with that voice.

I started writing when I was fourteen but didn't realize I was really good at it until I was eighteen, an adult.

I believe every single person has a talent. Finding out what it is, that's the tricky part. Some people won't figure out their talents when they're young, and that's ok. Sometimes, you haven't grown into it yet, or haven't had the opportunity to test the skill out. Sometimes you've just been looking in the wrong place.

When we hear the word talent, we immediately think of singing, dancing, and things of that sort. But there are a lot of things that can be considered talents. Like critical thinking, problem-solving, teaching, debating, decorating, playing video games (Yes, it's a talent). Basically, any skill or ability you're just naturally good at is your talent.

So, if you think you don't have one, trust me, you do. You just haven't found it yet. It might take a while, but hang in there, you'll find it, or them. Hey, there may still be some talents of my own that I haven't even discovered yet.

LESSON 3: Friendships: Quality over Quantity

I've been scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed and coming across memes and statuses pertaining to a particular subject. Friendship. And they all sounded something like this: "Sometimes you just outgrow friends", "A time will come when you realize that the people you thought were there for you, weren't really there for you", "If the friends you have don't help you grow, then it's time to let them go". Basically, they all talked about losing a friendship.

That's when something big hit me. I've been stuck with the same bastards as friends for eighty-four years!

Ok, they're not bastards, they're actually really cool people. And it hasn't been eighty-seven years, just a decade. The point is, I've been friends with the same people for over ten years and while reading these memes and statuses, the question occurred to me, why is that? How Am I able to keep the friends I've had since high school and some others go through different best friends once a month? And why is it that I have no other friends? (I'm aware that this would be considered "sad").

Here's what I discovered about myself and friendships. I am very picky about who I become friends with and who I open up to. My friends have most of the qualities I was looking for back then and I am content with having just them as friends. It feels like they're the best friends for me.

*My mother says that's a bad thing, what do you think?

And there it was readers, the answer to my questions. "The best friends for me". When it comes to friendships, it isn't about how many you have, it's about having the best ones for you. Some people focus so much having a lot of friends, that they don't pay attention to the kinds that they have. Then later on, when something bad happens, they're quick to drop the friend, not realizing that maybe it wasn't the best fit to begin with.

So, if you do want to have a lot of friends, go for it, but pick wisely. And if you have few friends, that's fine too, as long as they're the best friends for you. When you find that right friend, there's a better chance of it lasting longer and you all not outgrowing each other. Friends are supposed to grow together not apart, right? And you don't have to be friends with everyone, you don't click with everyone that way. But you can still be friendly. You don't have to be friends with someone to be friendly. Being friendly is simply being nice, kind and pleasant to someone (contrary to my mother's belief).

Find the friends that are right for you, and keep them close.

LESSON 4: Share Your Feelings

I have a lot of feelings, like everyone else. The difference is I keep them all to myself. If I don't know what the feelings are, or what is causing them, I am more likely to bury them deep.

Lately though, I've realized that keeping these feelings in, especially those negative ones, are doing more harm than good. So my solution, sharing them.

I had been (still kinda am) going through...a particular situation, and found myself keeping the feelings all to myself, trying to figure them out. It had gotten to the point where it was driving me crazy and I finally decided to open up to my friends about it. Honestly, that was the best decision I could have made. It felt good to finally let it all out and hear a different perspective on the situation.

So for those of you dealing with difficult feelings, I urge you to do the same. No, you don't have to climb to the top of a mountain yell out your deepest feelings to the world. If you want to though, blogging is a simple way to do so. There's bound to be someone reading who will understand and be able to help you deal with it. You can also share those feelings with a friend you trust. If you don't have a friend you trust, then you should go back and read Lesson 3. You can tell a family member, a counselor, pastor etc, someone YOU can trust with your feelings. And if talking to someone is still too much, it's always good to write those feelings down. Maybe writing it down will help you be more comfortable sharing it in other forms. At least that's how it worked for me.

Either way, share those feelings! I don't want you getting a heart attack because you're stressed out by keeping so much in.

LESSON 5: Love, It Still Doesn't Make Any Sense.

Remember when you were little and had a crush on someone? You start thinking about how you guys would get together, get married on a beach, have twin girls like Tia and Tamera and die a ripe old age together, holding hands in bed. You swore that you were in love, even if you have only spoken a few words to them. But one day, you see them holding hands with this other person and your heart is instantly broken. You cry for a few days wondering why they picked that other person over you, what about that other person made them better than you. But soon enough you get over it (maybe), and you think to yourself when I'm in my twenties, this whole love thing will totally be easier to handle

As someone in her twenties, I'm here to tell you that this love thing is still very complicated. Well, for me at least. You may be more mature, but the feelings are still the same. It's going to take some time to figure out those feelings and express them in a mature way.

When will that be? I don't know. It feels like I'm far from it though, hence the reason I won't be able to give you solid advice on it. Hell, I need it myself. What about you older readers, got any wisdom to share?

NB: Let me just make it clear, the example given at the beginning was all made up and not about me.

Ok, the Tia and Tamera part was about me. But the rest was made up.......I swear!

LESSON 6: Know Yourself

In a previous article, I wrote about what it was like being the quiet girl and all the struggles that came along with it. That included not meeting other's expectations, feeling like I didn't fit in and feeling like there was something wrong with me. But then I discovered the word "introvert" and everything changed. Being me didn't seem so weird anymore. Wanting to learn more about myself, I started doing more research and taking random quizzes here and there. The more I researched the more I learned about myself. Apart from being introverted, I found out that I was particularly intuitive, more than thought I was. Like I mentioned in Lesson 4, I'm bad at sharing feelings, but I'm better at sharing my thoughts, ideas, and opinions, even though I don't do it a lot with people in person. I think that's why I like writing stories and articles, it gives me an outlet to share those things. I found out that I was analytical, sometimes too analytical. A freakin' Overthinking Queen!

Understanding myself, knowing my strengths and weaknesses weirdly enough made me feel better and more confident in myself. Yeah, there are weaknesses that I haven't learned to strengthen yet, but just knowing what they are and why it's there makes me more willing to try and deal with them.

So, that's what I want you to do, learn about yourselves, understand why you are the way you are. Certain things may come easy, others may not. But once you start to understand yourself, there's this level of relief because things finally make sense. Trust me, once you get you, living life gets a bit easier.

LESSON 7: Know What You Want In Life

Family, friends, and society all have expectations when it comes to what you should be and what you should do. I'm not talking killing is bad and being nice to people is good. I'm talking your parents want you to become a doctor, your friends wanting you to date this guy, society thinking all women are supposed to have babies. Sometimes, as individuals, we do these things because it is what is expected of us. But here's the important question. Is it what you want?

If it is, go right ahead. But if it isn't, that's where the problem starts. I've heard of and witnessed situations where people go along with things because it's what they were "supposed" to do and not because they wanted to do it. In some cases, the motivation and passion aren't there, simply because it wasn't something they wanted or was passionate about to begin with. Other times it all turns out good, but because it wasn't something they wanted, the happiness isn't there.

That's why I think knowing what you want and going for it is a good lesson. If you are an "artsy" person, don't go into science because that's what your parents want. If it's a subject you don't like or love, the motivation would either be nonexistent or the wrong one. If you're not ready for a child or don't ever want one, DON'T DO IT! I mean this is a tiny human you have to take care of and teach, don't have one simply because someone wants you to. Yes, situations may come up where you'll have to do things you don't want to, to get to where you want to be in life. In cases like that, you'll have to suck it up and compromise, because that's how life is. I don't like speaking in front of crowds, but if I'm getting graded on some speech in class, I better put on my big girl panties and do my speech. Sometimes it's not as simple as this, but you get the point.

Part of knowing yourself is knowing what you want in life overall.

Personally, at this moment, I'm not dealing with this issue. I feel like when it comes to my life, I'm making decisions based on what I want (Contrary to others' belief. Apparently being a bit of a loner and being at home a lot, is seen as my parents not allowing me to go anywhere). But in a few years, when everyone my age is getting married and having babies and I'm still trying to get my degrees, the pressure will be ON! And honestly, I'm dreading it.

The point is, know what YOU want and go for it. This is your life, not anyone else's. Sometimes, you gotta be a little selfish.

LESSON 8: Knowing Might Take A While

Some of you may have read the previous lesson and thought "I already know what I want!". You know what college you want to go to, what career you want, what kind of family you want to start or if you want to start one at all. You know exactly what you want and have a plan to get there. And that, dear reader, is great! But what about those of you who aren't there yet? Those of you who have yet to figure out what you want. I'm to tell you there's nothing wrong with you, and what you're going through is normal.

Sometimes it takes a while to figure out what exactly you want for your life. For some of you teens, it might come to you in your twenties. For some, it will not. Hell, things might even get harder. I'm in my twenties and I'm still trying to figure some stuff out.

Just know that sometimes you won't know what you want for your future, your goals and plans may change every year. That's part of growing up. The answers will come to you though, and they may come when you least expect it.

Now for my top two lessons! Ignore the fact that they're numbered nine and ten. These two lessons are very important to me, and I'm still struggling with them a bit.

LESSON 9: Be Yourself

"Be Yourself", a phrase I've only heard on T.V but was never said to me. It sometimes had me thinking that maybe people didn't want me to be me. But what does being yourself mean, and why is it important?

When you know yourself (lesson 6) and what you want (lesson 7), the best next thing is to be yourself. Now being yourself isn't being rude or unkind if you already are, that's called being a jerk. Yes, there are people who are blunt and their bluntness may hurt your feelings, but as far as I understand, it's not the same as being mean. Being yourself is being true to your personality, your beliefs, your values, using your strengths and improving your weaknesses. Note here that your strength isn't always someone else's weakness simply because they don't do what you, maybe they just have a different approach to things. No one likes a faker, even though they may be times you might have to fake it a bit (I'm not particularly good at that).

Trust me when I say, it feels much better to be yourself.

LESSON 10: Not Everyone Will Understand

Lesson 10 is the reality of Lesson 9. As much as you know and understand yourself and is being true to it, they're always going to be people who don't understand and sometimes not like it at all.

It's a lesson that I still have to learn as the "quiet girl", and I'm still trying to figure out how I am to deal with it better. People still think that my quietness in public settings is because I'm afraid to talk to them. I sometimes wonder "Do they not understand I just don't want to talk?" It's frustrating to me, and sometimes I feel like it's useless to even try to explain myself, even to people who may actually understand, which is somewhat unfair to them.

For those of you who don't feel understood, I'm here to tell you that it doesn't change when you get older, people like that will always be in your life (family is no exception). What will help is being around like-minded people and sticking with those who do understand you.

So there you have it, Ten Lessons I learned in my twenty-four years of life. And I'm very eager to learn a lot more. People say things get a lot easier when you turn thirty, I hope they're right!

I hope that what I shared helped you all out in some way, it's always good knowing that it did.

So share with me, what are some lessons you've learned in life so far?

And what should I write about next in my Life Lessons series? I'm taking suggestions!