What Do You Wish You Knew at 24?

I was at an event to welcome the new executive director of the YWCA. There were a lot of older women there and I asked a few of them this question: What do you wish you knew at 24? 

Here is a list of their answers. 

1. Travel (and live abroad if you can)
2. Don't worry about things that won't matter in 10 years; stuff works out 
3. Don't get married just to be married, get married when you meet the right person
4. Enjoy the journey
5. Be independent and your own person (they talked a lot about this one) 
6. Have a plan BUT don't be locked into that plan, things change 
7. Don't loose your friends when they have kids and life changes, your lives will eventually equalize. And they can tell you things about being married and having kids since they will go through it before you. Also, we all need our girlfriends 
8. Have an open mind, things won't always be what you thought 
9. Don't be afraid to speak your mind and let your voice be heard
10. You are a lot stronger than you think you are 

My one major takeaway from my conversation with these awesome women was have fun and be happy when you are young.