Meet Danielle, one of my best friends.

We technically became friends in 7th grade over a music class project, but I think the friendship hit a rough patch soon after when she asked my boyfriend out. Luckily, we rekindled the fire in High School when I joined the track team, and to this day she is my running inspiration!

Not only is she crazy fast: She’s an amazing photographer, actor, artist, and friend. But what I didn’t know was how talented she was when it came to writing.

I recently read her post 24 things I’ve learned this past year and wanted to share it with you, while highlighting some of my favorite points! She’s one tough cookie and the post is pretty personal, but I think can relate to most of us. 

A lesson is only really learned when a person comes to terms with it themselves: You can’t force someone to understand: they either get it, or they don’t. 

Stop worrying so much about pleasing everybody, it is exhausting and unrealistic: Be the best you can be, the best person you can be with the best intensions you can have. That is all anybody can really ask for of a person. 

Getting shitfaced every weekend, fri & sat, isn’t as fun as I thought: In the words of kourtney kardashian, over it.

It is okay to be a “quitter” if for the right reasons.

If what you are most passionate about is not your job, if you are not 100% confident and in love with the person you have been in a relationship for a while, if you are are not ready to have kids, if you have not chased your dreams… then what the fuck are you doing. 

Tough love, and I love it.