1. LIFE MOVES SWIFTLY
   I wish I had realized how swiftly life moves. Like most 20 year olds, I somehow thought life would go on forever. I saw people in their 30s, 40s, even 60s and above and never pictured that I would be “one of them.” I took life for granted. I never thought about my own mortality. I got caught up in the fast track and the busyness of life. As I look back, I wish I had taken more time to enjoy and appreciate each day. I now realize I missed so much and I regret it. I wish I had spent more quality time with family and friends. People are precious and they won’t always be with us. If only I had taken the time to do the things that really mattered. Yes, life moves swiftly.
2. LIFE HAS HURDLES
   At 20 I thought I was rather invincible. I thought I could conquer the world, jump hurdles, swim the oceans, and climb the highest mountains. I felt strong and full of life. I wish I had realized how human I was and that, like everyone else, I was going to face major hurdles in life. It was inevitable that I would experience pain, heartache, disappointments, failure, loss, rejection, conflict and so much more. I wish I had realized the need to prepare for life’s hurdles. I wish I had taken the time to learn how best to respond to the challenges I was going to face. I wish I had learned how to draw good out of bad situations.
3. HAPPINESS ISN’T AUTOMATIC
   At 20 I expected happiness to be a given. I thought happiness would simply be there for me to enjoy. Yet, in all the busyness of life, I found myself searching for happiness. I wish I had realized that happiness is not a gift. You don’t automatically receive it. Happiness is a choice. You create it. If you want to be happy, you have to decide what choices you can make in life that will make you happy. No matter what hurdles you face, you can choose to be happy. I wish I had realized that happiness was in my hands.

……..more to come.