My plan after undergrad is to attend graduate school and obtain my master’s to become a practicing licensed therapist. I know this is my calling, and I’m truly beaming about my future. One of my greatest strengths that has led me to pursue this career is my ability to give good advice. I’m humbly known as the friend who can give advice, whether it be about a partner, family stuff, or work decisions. I carry this honor with pride. However, I’m only as good as the advice I receive. Today, I wanted to share some of the most influential pieces of advice I’ve either received or given out.
First, and this is my screen saver on my phone, everything is a win when the goal is to experience. For so much of our lives, we strive for greatness. Success is something we think we can measure, whether it be an amount in a bank account or a number on a scale. Success is invaluable. It’s a feeling rather than a number. I’m reminded every day to shift my mindset. One of my biggest pieces of advice that I love to share is to learn how to shift your thinking. You do not need to stop yourself from thinking negatively; you just need to shift the thought process, tweak it a little. If your initial goal is to experience the world around you, you’re already a winner.
Next addresses the idea of being cringe. 2026 is full of an absurd amount of irony and wit. Everyone’s always bit-ing, constantly trying to be the funniest in the room. The loudest people in a room are typically the most lonely and judgmental, as they hide behind their jokes and keep the world at arm’s length. Everything’s ironic and cringe. This piece of advice goes like this: do not kill the part of you that is cringe, kill the part of you that cringes. What a release! We all want to be perceived in a certain way. Some of us want the cool guy persona or the nonchalant chiller. It can be exhausting trying to be funny and witty, yet calm and reserved. Just be cringe, say weird things, and enjoy yourself.
Earlier this week, a couple of other seniors and I caught up after not seeing one another for a while. We were talking about everything from our friends to relationships to work and where we want to move to next. It was really nice. During all of this, we were discussing how we want to set ourselves up for success in our futures. All of a sudden, it was mentioned: I don’t want to just constantly please my future self. I want to live in this moment. This shifted my perspective into a different point of view. Yes, we have to work on ourselves now so our future self can be successful — have a career, a house, a family, whatever it might be. But on the flipside, we have to enjoy our current self. Live in the moment, be present, be bold and impulsive. Life is about finding that balance.
I love psychology, obviously, but I try not to therapize my friends or family. To be fair, I’m not yet a therapist. However, this is the most intellectual advice I can give, especially in the eyes of mental health. Don’t believe everything you think. We are all just human. We have intrusive thoughts, scary ideas that just come into our brains. We can’t try to harness every single one of our thoughts and try to make sense of them. If our brain wishes to travel into a far-off land, displaying negative outcomes or bad omens, we don’t always have to try to intellectualize it. Sometimes the best thing we can do for ourselves is to just let the thought cross our minds and not let it intrude into our spirit. Our brains can do pretty gnarly things if you give it the chance.
I leave you with this. There is no solution because there is actually no problem. Give yourself grace; this is our first time on earth. And living is such a gift.
