1. Student loans are awful...like really awful.
2. Don't stress about not having a job when you walk across the stage. It'll come your way.
3. Nothing will ever be cheaper than college bar drinks. NOTHING.
4. Free food still exists in the real world. Thank God.
5. Friendships will fade but family will always be there with full support, even if they think you're doing something stupid.
6. Take risks. If that means moving to a place you never expected (aka my life), it will be worth it in the long run.
7. Don't stop networking. Keep it going in the real world. You never know what opportunities will come your way.
8. I'm almost 23 and I still have to call my mom to deal with adult problems, which is totally normal. Moms are superheroes. Mama Bell is a blessing.
9. Coffee and melatonin are still necessities in the real world and not just for finals week.
10. Don't just lose contact with friends, because you don't see them every day on campus. Keep in touch with them. Those conversations over FaceTime or through Snapchat are sometimes needed on a Wednesday at 1 a.m. when you're bugging out.
11. SAVE. MONEY. Seriously, learn to budget.
12. Accept other people and other cultures, even if you disagree. Differences in cultures, races, genders, sexualities and ethnicities is what makes the world so phenomenal.
13. I still haven't used the Pythagorean Theorem since algebra my freshman year of high school.
14. Try your best to learn about taxes, 401ks, retirement and benefits before you enter the real world and have to call your dad to explain it to you when you get a random piece of mail that makes no sense to you. Love you Dad.
15. Spend 30 minutes a day off your phone and just relax, whether that be a good breakfast, a nice cup of coffee or watching Seinfeld before going to work.
16. Treat people with basic human respect. You may not like the person, but they're still a human. Treat them as such.
17. Work does not equal a best friend club, BUT if you didn't know that before entering the working world, then you're already way behind.
18. Learn the basics of car repair, i.e. knowing how to change a flat tire.
19. Patience is everything. Yelling at a computer for freezing on you five minutes before deadline will not make the computer fix itself faster. Believe me, I've tried.
20. Love your job and love what you do. If you don't enjoy the job you wake up for every day, then why enter the working world? Get something that makes you excited to get up at any time of day and take on the world. Do I enjoy getting up at 6 a.m. on random days throughout the week? No, but the reason I get up, which is my fantastic job, is what makes it all worth it.
