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Sometimes, when I look back, it feels like it took forever to get here.

Then, there are other times when I can pinpoint different memories as if they were yesterday.

Each year, when my birthday rolls around, I tend to reflect on the people who’ve made a meaningful impact on my life. I am often awestruck by those – both living and deceased – who’ve carefully curated and placed a piece of their experience into the woman I’ve become.

With that, I give you a collection of what I’ve acquired over the past quarter of a century as a result of those I’ve learned from and loved along the way.

1. Don’t panic about getting older because we’re all getting older at the same pace.
2. Unfortunately, we live in a fact-resistant world. Trying to communicate with those who use pseudoscience and shaming to make their point will only waste your time.
3. Speaking from personal experience, you can never have too many books.
4. As much as you may try, you cannot pour from an empty cup. Fill yourself up first and give to others from the overflow.
5. Take some time – even just 10 minutes – for your mental, physical and spiritual health each day.
6. Keep a list of the books that have changed your life. This year I devoured: “Reclaiming Conversation” by Sherry Turkle, “When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanithi and  “The Woman I Wanted To Be” by Diane Von Furstenberg.
7. Preventative healthcare is the best healthcare. Be diligent in scheduling your annual exams.
8. There is always more than one way to do something so fear not if you’re on the road less traveled.
9. It’s never too late to start. One step in the right direction is better than standing still.
10. Remember that sometimes you outgrow things, hobbies, even people – and that’s perfectly normal.
11. Be willing to let go of what no longer serves you to make space for what does.
12. Health and beauty basics to implement: Eat your greens, drink enough water, get enough sleep and wear sunscreen daily. That’s it.
13. Health and beauty trends to skip: Dieting. Wellness is the new skinny and your body needs proper nourishment to stay healthy, happy and strong to do all the things you want to do.
14. Don’t subscribe to any dietary labels; instead, fuel and nourish your body with real, whole foods. That means clean, unprocessed foods that are as close to their natural state as possible.
15. Meditation can might seem a little woo woo at first, but practicing mindfulness meditation is a simple, secular and scientifically validated exercise for your brain. The best part? It’s free and requires nothing.
16. Running late? Well-fitted denim, basic v-neck tee, blazer and ballerina flats.
17. “You are not a reflection of those who can’t love you.”
18. A beautiful heart and kind intentions will bring things into your life that all the money in the world couldn’t obtain.
19. We can’t consume our way to a more sustainable planet. Buy less, choose well and make it last.
20. Don’t place such a high premium on external measures of success that you forget what truly matters.
21. “Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve gotta say, and say it hot.”
22. My most treasured gift: To be a first world woman. To have the freedom to wander intellectually, to read whatever I choose, to look up solutions for life’s challenges and to debate today’s issues freely.
23. If you want to be intelligent, get comfortable with uncomfortable facts. As Phillip K. Dick once said, “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.
24. Always make time to read. Reading books takes us out of our own headspace and connects us to the lives and experiences of others in a way no other media can match.
25. Don’t forget to tell the important people in your life that you love them. Do it often.

Cheers!