5 Things I Learned Being 24
Photo: Albert Hoang
Ask for what I want. Up until now, so much of my focus has been on learning to ask for what I need — help, accommodations, favours. It pretty much took the first 23 years of my life to feel comfortable standing up for myself, but this year has been about taking it to a level I didn’t even know existed before: asking not for the bare minimum or enough to get by but instead advocating for above and beyond.
Trust my intuition. I’ve always had strong gut feelings, but what’s a gut feeling supposed to do against logic and reason? I’ve been so fortunate this year to be surrounded by people who’ve validated my intuition, especially within my work world, which have helped me learn to trust feelings you can’t explain but know to be true.
My body is capable of so much. I don’t get sick, and thus, I am rarely reminded of my health as a privilege. However, in light of the pandemic, all my discontent over my body’s imperfections have been replaced by gratitude. I’m so grateful that I can dance, and ride, and run to the grocery store on a whim. This year has been monumental in learning to love my body and feel beautiful.
Control is an illusion, yet... As was the case for all of us, I learned this lesson the hard way in March. I rely on planning as a coping mechanism in times of stress to maintain control over whatever areas I can. That schedules can be made and feel certain only to prove otherwise was a challenging reality to accept, and I’m still learning how to best deal with it. One thing that has been helpful to remember is to not disregard that part of me altogether. Feeling betrayed when this realization hit, my instinct was to toss everything out; my controlling nature hadn’t saved me and it sure couldn’t save me now… But it has in the past. So many of my successes have relied on my over-planning and perfectionism. Sure, I need to learn new ways to cope and be more flexible, but controlling Linh is responsible for some of my favourite parts of myself and that deserves recognition too.
Run towards, not away from. This year involved making some major decisions, of which there were no right answers. Many were simply choices that could’ve been perfect for someone else or even for me in a different time or place. One guiding question that I asked myself through it all was, “am I running towards this or running away from something else?” Even if it was hard to admit, I always knew the answer, and I’m determined to not choose paths out of avoidance or fear.