81 Life Discoveries 

By Lana Nizhehorodova 

0. If I cry, I get food.

1. My name is Amy.

2. I am a girl.

3. Fire is hot, ice is cold.

4. 1+1 = 2.

5. If you break an egg, you cannot put it back together again.

6. Our address is Main Street 14.

7. January is followed by February, and February – by March.

8. School is fun.

9. Emily is my best friend.

10. It is not difficult to ride a bicycle.

11. I want to be a pop singer, like Rihanna.

12. Sometimes, my friends are mean, even Emily.

13. My parents are not always right.

14. Grades might not be that unimportant.

15. If you do not have friends, you do not have anything.

16. I am a lesbian.

17. My actions have consequences.

18. Future is scary at times.

19. It’s ok to be different.

20. I am an introvert.

21. I can as well cope with life without my parents,

22. They do not wish me bad though.

23. Outgrowing people is normal.

24. Adult life is not always fun,

25. It is my responsibility to make it fun though.

26. I would rather do what I love for less money, than what I do not for more.

27. Life is hard, but it is still good.

28. I love Natalie.

29. She seems to love me back.

30. People judge us without even knowing though.

31. My close friends` number is fewer than I thought it would be.

32. It’s harder to make new friends as you get older.

33. You got to choose between career and family  –  you cannot have both.

34. I think I'm going to choose family.

35. My youth is officially over.

36. I know now what I value in people,

37. Cutting out some of my friends is actually good.

38. I know now what I value in life,

39. Throwing away stuff I do not need is actually healthy.

40. Being 40 is not that old.

41. It has its own benefits.

42. I'm far over listening to criticism,

43. Or choosing people over myself,

44. Or not prioritizing my health.
 
45. 45 comes fast.

46. I'm not going to be a rock star ever in my life.

47. But I am blessed to be a role model for my daughter.

48. Kids' teenage years are harder than I thought.

49. Sex can be boring.

50. Maybe it’s time me and Natalie live separately.

51. My health can’t be taken for granted,

52. As it starts getting worse.

53. My nightmare is not losing my job,

54. Or not succeeding in life,

55. It’s the word “cancer” on a medical report,

56. Not even my own, but a loved one’s.

57. Giving back is important.

58. I'm going to be retired soon.

59. Some of my friends are already dead.

60. I will be dead one day too.

61. I should have spent more time with my parents,

62. They have very little time left.

63. I'm not the same without them.

64. Living alone is not easy.

65. I'm actually scared of loneliness.

66. Being a grandmother is fun.

67. It seems I love my grandchildren more than I loved my daughter,

68. She doesn’t mind.

69. They are so much like her.

70. I do not remember where I put my things more often,

71. But my earlier memories are still alive.

72. I start to think about my life.

73. Slowly I realize a lot of important things.

74. It’s the people who make our life real.

75. The best moments of my life I wasn’t alone.

76. The biggest regrets I have in life are all about people.

77. I know my daughter will cope alone well,

78. And the world will go on like before.

79. It’s still scary to leave this Earth though.

80. I'm grateful for this life.

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Lana Nizhehorodova is from Odesa, Ukraine and now lives there, war notwithstanding. She has a linguistic background and can speak 5 languages. Recently, she has been writing essays, short stories, and poems. This is something that brings her a great deal of enjoyment, and she hopes they will be enjoyable for you to read too.