Your 20s are your selfish years and it's a decade where you immerse yourself in everything around you and the world out there. Ensure you are selfish with your time, look after yourself, pay attention to your mental health and love the people who are important to you.
1. Pay attention to your mental health.
While your physical health is extremely important, investing time into taking care of your mind should not be forgotten. Stimulate it, challenge it, be conscious of what you're exposing your mind to on a daily basis, and look after yourself. The same goes for your family and friends, make sure you are there for them whenever they may need you.
2. Chase your dream job.
Don't become complacent during your 20s and instead put yourself and challenge yourself. You should persist, move around and be as creative as possible in your career. Now is your opportunity to mess up a few times, work in a job you hate, get back up and then find your dream job. You will be glad you worked hard for it and you will be proud of yourself for trying!
3. Travel lots -- and sometimes alone.
Find the courage to travel, and sometimes even travel alone. There is nothing more exciting and life changing that discovering an incredible place you didn't expect to find. Pack your suitcase, catch a plane and explore a foreign country. With any luck, you'll see some new beautiful places and meet some interesting people, and get a bit more in touch with yourself while doing it.
4. Make time for your best friends.
As you grow up, leave university and move on with your life, it may sometimes become difficult to live close to friends, however it is now more important than ever to make time for your best friends. They are the ones who will stick by your side through thick and thin, watch you have babies, get married and more importantly be there through all the bad bits.
5. Live on your own.
Nothing feels more independent than moving out of home, and renting your own place. It may seem daunting to begin with but it's a great way to learn about life early on. You will need to learn how to manage your money, look after yourself and of course the biggest benefit is not having to hide how drunk you are to your parents after a night out on the tiles...
6. Love yourself and be loved.
Love isn't easy when you're in your 20s and it can tough, whether you are in a new or long-term relationship. If you are in a long-term relationship, it's can be a battle to grow alongside each other as you live your lives, and new relationships must fit in to the lives you already have existing. However, if you love yourself, love will come to you.
7. Buy that incred piece of clothing.
Ninety percent of the time you should spend your money on experiences, not things -- but once in a while save that $150 and use it to buy that incredible coat you've lusted after for months or that watch you've wanted since university. It will literally make you feel like the most amazing person in the world as you strut out of the shop. May as well do it while you only have to think about funding yourself.
8. Don't be afraid to ask.
Wherever it may be in your life, don't be afraid to ask for the things you want or need. Whether it is in your career and you want a pay rise or it is deciding on big life moment with your boyfriend, you have the choice to make a difference to your own life and like the saying goes; don't ask, don't get!
9. Look after yourself.
In a few years, the 15-year-old you will regret not looking after yourself more whether it is exercising, looking after your skin or even what you eat. Once you hit 40 I can imagine it's a lot harder to try
10. Eat whatever you like.
Of course look after yourself but also eat incredible food. Eat food from the other side of the world, eat food you wouldn't usually eat and learn how to cook dishes from scratch. Food can awaken all of the senses and you can find a lot of joy from food. Your metabolism is also 10 times faster than it will be in 10 years.
11. Rid yourself of bad people.
Once you've left school, left university and moved on to real life, being "popular" or whatever that even means, doesn't matter anymore. Having a million friends that you barely even talk to is unnecessary and often you accrue negative people in your life. Instead, keep your best friends close and dodge any toxic people!
12. Examine what you want out of life.
In your 20s it's easy to get wrapped up in work, sleep, eat, weekend, work, sleep, eat, weekend and often we forget what we really want out of life. People often forget to actually sit down and contemplate what it is they really want but this is the point in your life where you really do have a chance to shape the future. Make sure you spend time alone because it is the only true way to get to know yourself.
Sophie is a blogger and freelance writer based in the UK. She writes about all things travel on her blog over at Sophie's Suitcase and in her spare time writes for Huffington Post, Elite Daily and The Culture Trip. You can also find her on social media; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.