Things I Know at 26

- This is how I look to most people most of the time.
- I have a long face, stern eyes and a crooked mouth. *shrug*
- I know so much more than I did five years, two years, one year ago.
- And I am beginning to understand the immensity of how little I know.
- Age is a mostly arbitrary number.
- I am glad I married older.*
- Adults are petty and stupid and set in their ways.
- Don't believe everything your elders tell you.
- Don't believe everything you read on the internet.
- Don't believe anything involving superlatives (best, surest, safest, blah. blah. blah.)
- Don't you dare do something simply because it is "done."
- Question religion. Think deep and hard about it, and often. Take a stand, but humbly.
- Question everything. But disregard everything at your peril.
- Own your opinions unequivocally.
- Be passionate! But not pugnacious.
- Be kind. 
- Kiss a lot.**
- Avoid cliches.
- Weigh others' opinions before dismissing them out of hand.
- Do things because they are right, not because it will please someone, but because you reap what you sow.
- Don't worry about recognition.
- Don't concern yourself with accolades, with the opinions of others.
- Think about yourself as little as possible.
- But do try to dress well. It will help reduce self-consciousness.
- If you find a pair of pants you like, don't look at the price tag, and buy two pair.
- Avoid feeling angry. It's contagious in all the worse ways.***
- Empathize instead.
- Eat well. Not for your figure, but for your immune system, your stamina and your overall health.
- Have plenty of snacks in the cupboard.
- I am not going to go to Hell for watching movies of a certain rating, or saying things like "damn" every now and then, or drinking a caffeinated beverage every once in a while. I'm not. Sorry to disappoint.
- I am not going to be condemned for my imperfections.
- BUT don't use your imperfections as an excuse.
- Everyone hates their job at least a little bit. Don't be disappointed when you aren't completely satisfied with your own.
- Don't pay for TV.
- Don't watch TV. Not in real time, at least.
- Commercials are Satan's own spawn.
- Read. Read as if because your life depends on it.
- Read the news. Don't watch it. ****
- Practice. It isn't too late to learn a new skill. 
- Create. Do it because it's good for your brain.
- Worry about money only as much as necessary and, generally, as little as you can afford. *****
- Write often and without regard to quality. There is always revision...
- Go out of your way for your friends.
- Don't judge your friends.
- Don't judge your family. But learn from them--mistakes and all.
- Laugh at yourself.
- Respect yourself.
- So you can love yourself.
- So you can love others.
- Just...you know...love.

*An arguable point. In Mormondom, marriage at the ripe age of (nearly) 25 is on the shady side of average.
** Should've learned this a lot sooner.
***Screaming impotently at other drivers does not make them regret cutting me off.
****If Fox News is "fair and balanced" then my Aunt Sally is a three-toed, yodeling monkey's uncle.
*****No pun intended.