What I've learned ...

Because to "live and learn" is a worthwhile pursuit.

... from being a waitress

* There's a right way to ask for something, but it seems that most people have no idea what it is. Here's a hint: rudeness is not the way.
* Everyone should be required to work in a position of public service (waitress, cashier, etc.) for at least a year.
* Food and drink do not magically appear when ordered.
* Saying "I'm in a hurry" does not speed up your order. The entire restaurant is "in a hurry."
* A person who is nice to a date but not to the server is not a nice person.
* Most servers are paid less than minimum wage, so please don't skip the tip.
* When leaving a tip, do not try to put it in the server's apron pocket.

... from college

* Sometimes grades don't reflect a person's understanding of the material.
* Even really great teachers don't know everything.
* If there's a way to inconvenience someone, chances are the people who make the class schedule have mastered it.
* When registering for classes, become very familiar with what classes you need, when they are offered, whether or not they have prerequisites, etc. Do not rely solely on your advisor.

... from interacting with people

* My reality is not defined by other people's opinions.
* Being self conscious is a waste of time: people don't pay as much attention as we think they do.
* We are each so much more than what other people reduce to measuring.
* A kind word can make someone's day.
* If you give someone $20 and never see them again, it was probably worth it.
* Likewise, if you're being yourself on social media and someone unfriends you... it was probably worth it.
* No matter how thin you slice it, there are always two sides.
* If you call someone ugly, do not think you are pretty.
* Actions really can speak louder than words.
* My response to you is not who I am: it is often dependent on you. For example, to sweeten my response, sweeten your delivery.
* The true mark of maturity is when someone hurts you and you try to understand their situation rather than hurting them back.
* Never sacrifice your class to get even with someone who has none. Let them have the gutter. You take the high road.
* You shouldn't waste your time on someone who isn't willing to waste their time on you.
* Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back. Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart, but if it doesn't, be content that it can grow in yours.
* The worst part about being lied to is that, to that person, you weren't worth the truth.
* The only fool bigger than the one who knows it all is the one who argues with him.
* Usually people who claim to "tell it like it is" are actually telling it like THEY THINK it is. Big difference!
* Beware of people who are prone to drama. They may put you in their next episode.
* People don't care what you know until they know that you care.

... from self-assessment

* Most of the things you worry about never happen.
* Talking can ease emotional pains.
* I have no desire to compete, to play the game of being better than anyone. I am simply trying to be better than the person I was yesterday.
* No amount of guilt can solve the past, and no amount of worry can change the future.
* You don't have to have it all figured out to move forward.
* Many of our problems can be traced to one of two causes: we (re)act without thinking or we keep thinking without acting.
* Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for ourselves.
* When I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
* No matter how badly your heart is broken, the world doesn't stop for your grief.
* Success may be having what you want, but happiness is wanting what you have.
* Lack of planning on my part does not constitute an emergency on their part.
* Not every mountain is a hill to die on. So, pick your battles carefully.
* Nothing is obvious until you know the whole story.
* Those who dance will be laughed at by the ones who can't hear the music.
* You can keep going long after you think you cannot.

... from songs

* Where the sun always shines, there's a desert below.
* You've got to know when to hold 'em. Know when to fold 'em. Know when to walk away. Know when to run.
* You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.
* Tough times don't last. Lovers do.
* Everybody plays the fool.
* If you're tired of the same old story... turn some pages!
* It's a beautiful day; don't let it get away.
* Sad songs say so much.
* If this ain't love, baby, just say so.
* Almost doesn't count.
* Don't forget your second wind.
* Sometimes love just ain't enough.
* Some people are easy on the eyes, hard on the heart.
* What a fool believes he sees, no wise man has the power to reason away.
* It's gotta come from the heart if you want it to work.
* It's a great day to be alive.
* Don't let 'em get you down; don't let 'em push you around.
* Never run away.
* You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything.
* Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
* Every storm runs out of rain.
* Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they?
* Living might mean taking chances, but they're worth taking.
* So don't yield to the fortunes we sometimes see as fate; it may have a new perspective on a different date.
* It's not always rainbows and butterflies.
* Some things are better left unsaid.
* The good old days weren't always good: tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.
* The waiting is the hardest part.

... from quotes and sayings ("words to live by")

"An intellectual improvement arises from leisure." ~ Samuel Johnson

"Dance like nobody's watching... Text, email, and post on social media like it will be read out loud in court one day." ~ Unknown

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." ~ Robert Brault

"Everyone wants to be an overcomer, but nobody wants anything to overcome." ~ Joyce Meyer

"Hope arouses, as nothing else can arouse, a passion for the possible." ~ William Sloan Coffin, Jr.

"I do not regret the things I've done, but those I did not do." ~ Rory Cochrane

"If you are never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take any chances." ~ Julia Sorel

"If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment." ~ Georgia O'Keefe

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." ~ George Eliot

"Most people think their feelings are realer than real because they're so visceral. We have a hard time denying what we feel. Well, that's wrong. Just because you feel it doesn't make it real. Feelings aren't a satellite dish receiving signals of eternal truth. Feelings come from beliefs. Change the beliefs and the feelings change." Eric Barker, observer dot com

"Mostly I like to see how the world works. Meet people. Learn how they're different - and the same." ~ MacGyver, on why he moves around so much

"Never ruin an apology with an excuse." ~ Kimberly Johnson

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

"Not my circus, not my monkeys." ~ Polish proverb

"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength." ~ Eric Hoffer

"Stick with what you know instead of what you *think* you know." ~ Francine, quoting Billy on Scarecrow and Mrs. King

"Talkin' ain't doin'." ~ Teaspoon, The Young Riders

"The greatest of faults, I should say, is to be conscious of none." ~ Carlyle

"The moment one gives close attention to any thing, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself." ~ Henry Miller

"The thing about fear is, it doesn't leave room for anything else, like beauty or purpose." ~ woman on Joan of Arcadia

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." ~ Beverly Sills

"We can only grow when we accept that not everything we tell ourselves is correct." ~ Vienna Pharaon

"When you delight in the game, the effort seems unimportant." ~ Anonymous

"There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience." ~ Archibald McLeish


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