I’ll be celebrating 28 on Sunday (cue the champagne toast). So today’s Eat. Love. INSPIRE is twenty-eight pieces of advice I’ve lived, learned, loved and laughed through in 28 years. Cheers!

1. Listen to your gut. I repeat again, listen to your gut. No excuses – ever.
2. Change is scary. The risk of not changing and not growing is even scarier.
3. Just.book.the.trip.
4. Hustle & heart will set you apart. Do less with more focus and heart.
5. Find your rhythm, whatever that may be, and dance through life. Don’t try dancing to somebody else’s rhythm, you’ll never find the beat.
6. Finally come to the realization that your parents are human. Ask them questions and find out what’s going on in their lives. Yes – they have more going on than just raising children.
7. “Be truthful, gentle and fearless.” (Thanks Gandhi)
8. You’re actually not that bad, country music. In fact, I actually really like you – please ignore what I may have said in my young and ignorant years.
9. Staying out till 5 am is not all it’s cracked up to be. Especially when there are heavy amounts of alcohol involved.
10. …but on rare occasions, it is all it’s cracked up to be.
11. Find God. No, really – find God and you’ll enter into the craziest, holiest and most amazing relationship, ever. (Note: I didn’t say find religion – 11a. seek the difference)
12. Become best friends with your sibling(s). They are freaking awesome human beings.
13. Run. I say this after hating it for 28 years.  It’s an instant mood lifter and cheaper than a bottle of wine. (Although I do recommend one – just one – glass a night!)
14. Fall in love with yourself first. If someone amazing comes along who blows you away, finds you equally awesome and makes you better, make room for them in your life, lots of room. For crying out loud, marry them already. Otherwise – continue to date yourself wholeheartedly.
15. Discover how much sleep you need to be happy and well rested and commit to it every night.
16. Find your tribe – love them hard.
17. But be ok when your lives move in different directions and at different paces. If they are truly your people, they will be for life, regardless of circumstances.
18. Learn to say no when you genuinely mean no, and yes when it scares the pants off you.
19. Have 3 hobbies – one to make you money, one to keep you in shape and one to be creative.
20. Don’t try to change the world. Do you, genuinely you, and the world will change.
21.  Salt really does cure anything – sweat, tears and the sea.
22. Get off social media – It is 100% not all it’s cracked up to be. Your value is not determined by number of likes.
23. Learn to say thank you, I’m sorry and I love you with abandon.
24. Curate your own sanctuary, whether it’s in a mansion, studio apartment or cardboard box. Paint the walls, hang pictures, invest in quality creature comforts. Make it your favorite place in the entire world. But don’t be afraid to get away from comfortable every now and then.
25. Be ok being alone, not in the date-less sense, but in the sitting by yourself in a room with just your thoughts sense. If you can’t find peace there, you’ll never find it anywhere.
26. Seek to be worth knowing rather than well known (ahem, refer to #22).
27. Eat the damn dessert.
28. Judge less, love more. Bottom line.

And an extra for the year ahead…

29. Collect experiences, not possessions. And on that note, to pay for those experiences, keep in mind that the cheapest car is always the one you already own. So take care of it and it will take care of you and your adventures (Thanks, Dad).

“Set your life on fire. Seek those who fan your flames.”

-Rumi

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