Although I am only 23 I have lived quite a full life and have learned a very many lessons on the way. Here are just five I would like to share with you:

1.ITS EASIER TO TELL THE BRUTAL TRUTH THAN A BLATANT LIE: Being politically correct is only correct if you're a politician, for everyone else it is nothing more than being a coward and most times a liar. During our lives we will all be faced with times in which we choose to tell the truth and hurt someone or we can choose to lie and make ourselves feel better. Take it from me, you may hurt one person with the truth, but you hurt everyone involved with your lie.

2. NEVER PUT YOUR TRUST IN PEOPLE WHO ASK FOR IT: I've always been a friend to anyone and everyone who has needed one. I recognize that a friend is a person who doesn't need to be told when its time to be one and never needs your validation. People who openly vie for your trust are people who are trying to veil themselves in your security. They are only in your life to hurt you. Give your trust sparingly and only to those who have earned it with a quiet dignity and respect becoming of a true friend.

3. (MEN) THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS: Although I may at times come off as rude, arrogant, or whatever other portrait those foriegn of me try to paint, I have a heart as big as the open sky. However, in recent years it has always come back to haunt me. I cant count how many times I have found myself in bad situations trying to "save" other people. Guys, realize that there is no such thing as a "damsel in distress" and you are never going to be a "knight in shining armor". The truth is that life is pretty indiscriminate and that whatever your life becomes is entirely what YOU made it. So when you see that woman with the sob story...maybe she is struggling to stay in college....maybe she is a single mother...maybe she cant pay her rent...when u see HER barely keeping her head above water...the best thing to do is to LET HER DROWN! The only savior in this universe is Jesus. Thats why HE could walk on water. In your case, she will use you as her life raft and ride you to safety and out of whatever bad situation she is in, after that you will be discarded like a Haitian inner tube. Dont be struck by a pretty face, once the novelty of it all wears off you will find she is not the girl you loved, she is not the person you respected and her pretty face masks a decaying personality. Keep in mind that she will NOT save you. Keep in mind that her decision making got her to where she is. Don't jump into troubled waters...you have not the life jacket to weather her storm.

4. FEAR IS AN INDICATOR OF SUCCESS: You go to work day in and day out mindlessly, never once putting any thought to the terrifying notion that you could very well work a job you hate for the rest of your life. However, when the idea of quitting and chasing after your dream rears its head, you are petrified. Its normal to fear the unknown, but take a second to ponder this: Very few people are successful and they have all traveled the same path. Take a walk through the wilderness. Your calling may lie hidden in the wilderness. Take the unbeaten path.

5. LIVE ON FIRE: Life is such a precious gift I think it has to be a sin to only exist. Take a chance to truly enjoy life and always live it with the same fire and passion as your creator. The breath in your lungs is a precious thing few have ever gotten to experience and each day you survive is one day more than a vast majority of the population. Every sunrise makes you a champion so live your life as if you've already won. Live fully. Live freely. Life on fire.