25 Empowering Life Lessons You Should Know By The Time You Turn 25

25 Empowering Life Lessons You Should Know By The Time You Turn 25

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Photo credit: Bluebirdsandteapots/Flickr

Twenty-five is a milestone birthday. You have reached a point where you're an adult, a real adult, who pays taxes, worries about health insurance and can rent a car on a whim. Of course you don't have everything figured out -- and that's a good thing -- but getting through your teens and early twenties means you've picked up some wisdom along the way.

So, we asked our Facebook community: "What do you know now that you're 25 or over that you might not have known when you were younger?"

Behold, 25 things you (hopefully) know once you've turned a quarter of a century:

1. "'No' is a complete sentence that does not need an explanation." -- Facebook user Anissa K. Fogel

2. "It's OK to burn bridges." -- Facebook user Jhin Herbs

3. "It's completely alright if you don't have every little bit figured out at all times. Often the best things can come from times of chaos." -- Facebook user Michelle Via

4. "When your parents tell you that high school friends won't matter later, listen to them." -- Facebook user Tiana Harris

5. "If you don't want to drive three hours to attend a distant relative's baby shower, that's OK. Send a card, and don't feel guilty." -- Facebook user Maggie Muse

6. "Ladies -- invest in the BEST BRASSIERES you can afford!" -- Facebook user Gloria Aldecova

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7. "Don't believe in other people's versions of what's right and wrong." -- Facebook user Edu Gonzalez

8. "Money doesn't buy anything of real value." -- Facebook user Penny Evans

9. "It's OK to let toxic people go. That includes family members. Life is too short to be around negative people who don't have your best interest at heart." -- Facebook user Destinee Wright

10. "When you're 20, love conquers all, when you're 30, a good credit score does." -- Facebook user Monica Sanchez Ontiveros

11. "Don't let people pressure you into deciding what you want to do with your life." -- Facebook user Rebecca Green

12. "Appreciate and love yourself every day -- you're beautiful at every age." -- Facebook user Dianne Wallis

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13. "Don't be afraid to act like a boss." -- Facebook user Krystyna Solodenko

14. "Sometimes you have to forgive people. We all make bad decisions." -- Facebook user Felicia Camacho

15. "Friendship is family." -- Facebook user Amanda Brandom

16. "Laugh a lot and travel often." -- Facebook user Rachel Holston

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17. "You don't have to get married or have kids." -- Facebook user Lisa Girard

18. "Go after the people you're interested in. Strike up conversations. Ask someone out. Life is too short to fear rejection." -- Facebook user Kristian Wilson

19. "Don't spend all your time working." -- Facebook user Brook Sarason

20. "Stress less." -- Facebook user Tresa Lynn Lamberts

21. "Health is important. [You] should always take care of yourself, not [just] when the damage is done." -- Facebook user Denise Acosta

22. "Don't rack up loads of debt buying cheap shit clothes that you will never wear." -- Facebook user Debbie Woodhead

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23. "Stand up for [yourself] more often." -- Facebook user Violeta Vanessa Gill

24. "Life is really too short, don't give a f**k about anything, just do your thing and keep walking." -- Facebook user Marina Glower

25. "[You] still don't have all the answers." -- Facebook user Seracut Hair

Before You Go

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"Don't ever Google a drug, because it's all psychos being like, 'This blinded me, it killed my husband.' I once flushed all my Klonopin down the toilet, because I was so scared by what I read."--Lena Dunham to Rolling Stone
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“It’s good for you, protein and all that. I used to eat a whole chicken every day, for lunch. I did that for four years. But it got tiring — go to the store, buy it, eat it. It’s a mess.”--Adam Driver to Vulture
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"Being humble and sweet is the hardest thing you can do. Stay confident and don’t act desperate, because I guarantee whomever you’re into actually sucks way more than you think they do. There is always something they’re not telling you that will bring them down a notch in your eyes."--Jemima Kirke to Vice
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“I categorize age as a medical condition. What if I asked you about your last operation?”--Alex Karpovsky to The New Yorker
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"Ninety percent of the time when I go on dates I think, I could be reading my book instead.”--Zosia Mamet, to Conan O'Brien
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"Losing competitiveness doesn't mean you lose drive. It's important to make that distinction.'--Christopher Abbott to Details
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"Something that's been lovely about the last couple of years is that I've finally abandoned the pursuit of perfection, which I think I was pretty stubbornly holding on to, just always trying to be the best at everything I did. I grew up enough to realize that the people I respect aren't perfectionists. And I was like, 'Oh, that's so much more perfect.'"--Allison Williams to Town & Country

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