Political Ideology - 1
Take an ideology test. Political ideology tends to get passed down from parents or labeled on you for something else you’re involved in. Take an ideology test and figure out what you think and how you should vote! If you don’t vote you can’t complain about the outcome of an election. On the other hand, if you are too busy to really understand the issues and you haven’t spent time thinking about both sides, then don’t vote. The voting system seems totally defunct at times and it’s certainly not perfect, but people did battle, fight, die, protest and give their everything to have the right. If nothing else we owe respect to our history and those whom came before us that paved our way to have what we have now.

Relationships - 2

Relationships exist all around us. We have relationships with friends, family, lovers and acquaintances. Please don’t neglect your relationships. True happiness comes from within you and it can only exist if you can be your true self. Try to be your true self within all of your relationships. Don’t treat family different than friends. Don’t treat friend different from lovers. I’m gonna let you in on a secret, for women, self-confidence is the key to getting what you want in romantic relationships. Even if you don’t have confidence pretend like you do. Pretend as if you don’t feel you need that person so bad and you would be nothing without them. They are afraid of that pressure (whether they say so or not). People want what they can’t or don’t have. Men and women are fundamentally built different from one another. Their feelings and thoughts do not coincide. Men think sex=love. Women think emotions=love. Girls, never let a man treat you with any disrespect. Boys, treat females like they are your own mother or sister.

Parent Illusion - 3
You don’t need therapy if your parents mess up. You are supposed to be better than your parents. Something is cosmically wrong with the universe if you aren’t a better person than your mom or dad. When you grow up and become parents, one piece of advice I might have for you is, don’t pretend you are any better than your kids. Don’t lie to your children, let your children see your flaws. Apologize to your children when you do something wrong. Let’s think about this for a minute. In every other aspect of our lives, they way we learn things is by making mistakes and having consequences. We all have gotten fired from a job. We have all lost someone for treating them wrongly. How do we learn to be parents if we never have consequences for our mistakes. If I raise my voice to my kids, what is my punishment? What if I lie to them or neglect them? The truth is, when we wrong someone in our lives, they usually have a voice to let us know how we have hurt them, and we can curb our behaviors accordingly. Kids don’t have that voice, they don’t understand how to communicate and ultimately they are raised to believe that their parents should be given respect wether or not they earned it. My point is, we as parents have to be accountable for our mistakes is order to learn from them. This means apologizing to our children when we know we are wrong.

Trust - 4
Trust first no matter what. You will get burned, and then trust again. Trust is a funny thing. You will meet so many people in your life that will warn you not to trust people. In fact, it is more socially acceptable to be guarded than trusting. Often people mistake trust for weakness. However, if you are able to trust others, no matter what the consequences, that is a sign of strength. The truth is, almost universally we find that the greatest reward comes from the greatest risk. This is true in our relationships with others. We have to risk ourselves. We cannot have authentic relationships if we can’t trust. Additionally, no one will be able to trust us unless they can see that we are trusting.

Be humble - 5
This one can be difficult. The opposite of humility is not arrogance. It is our self-confidence that allows us to be humble and feeling good about ourselves doesn’t have to come at the expense or suppression of others. It is ok to be proud and let yourself be loved and admired. Everyday we have an effect on others. Unfortunately, it is not common for people to express how we have affected them.

Creativity- 6
Be Creative. Don’t try to be different. Just do what you are inclined to do. This one should be called “Be You”. If you allow yourself to be uninhibited your creativity will come naturally. Your creativity does not have to be loved and appreciated by others. You are the judge of

College- 7
Go to College when you are ready to really enjoy it and take it in for all its worth. GRADUATE - No one can ever take your degree from you. It doesn’t matter what you get your degree in, just get one. If you go to class you will pass, regardless of the quality of work you produce. People who go to college are typically the ones to urge others to go as well. This is because it is such an amazing experience that they want everyone to be able to enjoy it. It’s true that you can get by and even do really well in life if you go to college. A college degree does not equal success by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, it is the experience of being the college environment that I wouldn’t want you to miss out on. There is something so spectacular about being surrounded by thinking minds. There is so much to learn in the college beyond the lecture. We can learn so much about other people, ourselves and our world. 

Gossip - 8
Think about what you are going to say. If the message can possibly hurt the receiver (whether you originated the idea or not) DON’T SAY IT. Gossip is actually talking about people who aren’t present regardless of whether or not you are saying nice things.

Making Mistakes - 9
Make mistakes. Try again. Fail. Try again. Make another mistake. Whether we like it or not we all learn from mistakes. It is hard to think of ourselves as having to fail before we can get anything right. What is harder, is understanding that we cannot save others from their mistakes that are waiting in the wings. We so often find ourselves trying to protect our friends and families from the hurtful outcomes of their actions. Only because we know, all-too-well, how it is going to hurt, from personal experience. If we could actually learn from other people’s mistakes our universe would be so cosmically different I cannot even fathom it. This book is not meant to steer you away from making mistakes. It is meant to be there for you when you fall. It is meant to show you that you are not alone in your mistakes and that you’re only human.

Travel - 10
Travel as much as you can without abandoning your sense of home. Being able to see culture is imperative to understanding. Allow yourself to feel small. It often takes being literally above the world to see just how small we really are. Someday you will realize your insignificance and you can choose to feel freedom from that or sadness. Live in the city and in the country you deserve both and you can only learn to appreciate one when you’ve experienced the other. Get in your car and drive. You will never understand how this makes you feel until you do it. You are not confined by anything.

Dedication & Will - 11
One of the hardest things for me to conquer is dedication and will. It is often easy for me to be dedicated to others but when it comes to completing things my dedication easily withers with time. The people who are most successful in life often seem to be those who can remain dedicated to something for a really long time. Perseverance always pays off. It comes so easily to be interested in and motivated for the new things we are doing in our lives but the real work comes when we start to get bored. We have to find ways to continue to make our life’s work interesting. None of it is possible without will.

Unconditional Love - 12
I am not sure this one can be taught but if you’re anything like your mom you will love this way. I have found over time that one of my most unique qualities is my unconditional love. When I meet people and begin a relationship with them I don’t think I ever really forget about them. Sure, there have been many people who have hurt me or wronged me in some way but that doesn’t stop my love for them. It’s OK to love people this much. It’s OK to love people that you barely know. I have teachers, peers, employers, co-workers and friends that I love this much. They probably don’t know it but if they ever needed me for any reason I would bend over backwards to be there for them. I don’t know how or why I am this way but I do know that others do not feel the same as I do. I can’t say for sure which way is right or wrong.

Life’s Playlist - 13
Music and movies, even television, can have a great effect on our lives. Often too much of these treats can be viewed as laziness but without them, none of us would be the same. These things allow us to feel alive. Whether we are feeling sad or excited— we are feeling. You will find that there are some forms or pieces of music that move you, and what evokes those feelings is different for everyone. Reggae music makes me feel alive, it makes me feel like my heart is beating to the music. For some of my good friends, it is heavy metal as loud as possible that gives them the same feelings. It’s unexplainable. It’s art and it’s other peoples expressions and it is all to be cherished.

Religion - 14
Religion is one of the toughest subjects to discuss with friends and family. Many people feel very strongly about their religions. Religion has been a part of people’s lives for centuries and religious beliefs are ever evolving to encompass the times in which they are practiced. Religions are more-often-than-not based on fears. Religions attempt to answer the questions we all have about what happens to us when we die.
No matter what you choose to believe, always remember one thing. Practice religious tolerance. Study religious beliefs and educate yourself in order to practice understanding in addition to tolerance. All religions hold incredible stories and moral backing to help people live their lives. See if you can extract the meaningful ideas from religious sermons. Many of the Buddhist teachings align with my personal beliefs. Seek to understand the four noble truths.

Nobody’s looking at you - 15
Seriously, nobody is looking at you. In our teenage years it is normal to have an egocentric way of thinking. It is this way of thinking that often curbs our sense of self-confidence. Everyone must care about what we are wearing or how we tripped in the hall, but the truth is that even though you thought about how everyone saw you trip, for days on end, the rest of the people though about it for a minute. People are too busy and have the smallest attention spans, you are giving them too much credit if you actually think they can concern themselves with you for long periods of time. Think about what you are thinking and understand that most other people have the same or similar thought process. Some teenagers think everyone is looking at them because they are beautiful or popular, others think everyone is looking at them because they are awkward or clumsy. So which is it, who is everyone looking at?

Vocabulary - 16
The more words you know the better you can articulate yourself. You are only as smart as your words. Don’t be limited by your vocabulary. One of the most frustrating things we can endure is when someone misunderstand us. It is so easy for others to misinterpret what we are saying because we are usually not that great at expressing a whole feeling or idea.

Hydration - 17
Drink lots of water. Water is really the only thing we need to survive for a long time without anything else. The benefits of water are not usually taught to everyone. Water keeps our bodies functioning and looking the way we want them to. Water keeps our skin looking and feeling fresh. It prevents us from the effects of aging. It allows us to cleanse our system from the various toxins we expose ourselves to. Water cures a hangover. C’mon what else more can you want. This stuff is magic.

Exercise - 18
Playing sports and exercising is better for us than we think. Sure it keeps our bodies in shape and oh-by-the-way it is the only diet that will ever work for anybody. But it can also give us drive. It can provide motivation. It can help us to release anger and anxiety. It will allow us to clear our heads. Playing sports provides us responsibility and allows us to practice our dedication and will. It just keeps us alive so whatever our method and whatever our situation, we have to allow ourselves to get some exercise.

Happiness - 19
Being happy can only come from within. Everyone will tell you this all the time and it sounds like you are just supposed to automatically love yourself and be happy with the snap of your fingers. The truth is, that this world we live in is full of pain. We lose people, we lose things. It’s painful. Whether or not we choose to suffer from our pain is our choice. We get to choose our reaction to things. Of course we will all experience our initial reactions but where we take those feelings is up to us. Give yourself some credit here. It is within your power to control your feelings. It is not the easiest thing to do but I have found that if I force myself to fake the feelings I want to have, for just a little while, I will ultimately come to take ownership over those feelings. Do not allow other people or other things to effect you in a way you don’t want to be effected. It IS your choice.

Say what you want to say - 20

I am sure you have been thinking about that thing that is so important, that I left out of this book. Say it. Write it right here. What is it that you have taken so long to finally understand and now you want to share it.

…and this is only a guess.