2.  You can't dwell on the past.  You have to live each day as a new life.  Just accept the fact that things change.  Don't ever look back at the way things were because you'll probably end up getting depressed.  Either because your past was horrible... or because your past was great and your life now isn't quite as good.  Either way, if you try not to look back, chances are you'll be better off.  Don't regret doing certain things or worry about "what if" you did something different.  People change and there's nothing we can do to stop it, so just accept it.  Some people change over night and others may change slowly or over the course of a year, but everyone changes in one way or another.  Sometimes its for the better.... sometimes we could definitely do without it.  Just learn to live with it and you'll be fine.   You should still learn from your mistakes so you have to remember things that happened in the past, but don't let your life revolve around them.

        3.  Live your life as if you would die tomorrow.  Seize the day.  Those are things we all take for granted.  But you never know how much time you have left on earth so you should live each day to the fullest extent.  Don't ever give up the opportunity to do something you've thought about doing.  Or even if you've never once even considered doing it, but it looks like it may appeal to you, I say go for it.  Don't even give it a second thought.  Unless it's something stupid like drugs or something.  That shouldn't appeal to anyone.  Don't ever give up on anything, always finish what you start, and don't procrastinate... EVER.  Cuz procrastination sucks.

        4.  That which does not kill us, makes us stronger.  This is something I heard a long time ago and never really thought about until now.  If you think about it... I mean really think about it... it holds true to just about anything.  Even something like a broken heart can make us stronger in some ways.  Because it prepares us for worse love problems in the future.  At the time you may think its killing you, but you will eventually get emotionally stronger and you'll be able to handle other similar situations a little better.  Once you've been through something one time, you'll know what to expect and how to deal with it in the future.  This is why certain things get easier to deal with the more they happen.  Like death....

      5.  We often say "the grass is always greener on the other side" when we should be saying "there's always somebody worse off than me."  Sure, there are probably lots of people better off than you, but you shouldn't feel bad about that because just think of all the people out there worse off than you.  No matter how bad your life may be, there will always be someone worse than you.  Everyday people - normal people just like you and me - are getting physically abused, kidnapped, sexually abused, and murdered.  People are starving and living in boxes roaming the streets at night searching for food.  Then there are the people who have been in some sort of accident and end up in wheel chairs for the rest of their lives.  Or maybe they were born paralyzed, orphans with no one to love or be loved by, blind, deaf, or mute.  These are all things we take for granted.  So next time you think your life is bad, take a look at the world around you.  Just learn to take the bad stuff in life as it comes and deal with it.

        6.  The best things in life come when you least expect them.  Don't ever get your hopes up about something because chances are you might not get it.  If you always expect the worst, you won't be crushed if something bad happens because at least it will be better than what you expected.  If you expect something good, something bad usually comes; and if you expect something bad, sometimes something terrific will happen.  Life is kind of ironic in that sense.

      7.  Did you ever hear parents talking on the phone to other parents and they ask each other how they could have raised their kids the same way and have them turn out totally different?  Well what they don't realize is that they only raise their kids until they're about 10.  After that the child starts to realize that he/she can think for his/her self and does one of two things.  Either:       a.   They'll rely on their friends and their friends will more or less raise them.  This could be a good or bad thing depending on who they're friends with ----- or ----- b.   They'll raise themselves.  Most kids let their friends raise them but there are a few (usually the quiet ones) who raise themselves.  They observe the world around them and learn what's right and wrong by what they observe.  They make their own decisions on just about everything and they don't like being told what to do or being lectured.
I raised myself.  My sister Michelle, who's now 20, let her friends raise her, and my younger sister Marcie is still letting my parents raise her, which is rare being that she's 14, but its still okay.  I guess everyone works at their own pace.  My youngest sister's 10, and she does a little bit of everything.  In some cases she lets her friends raise her and in others she raises her friends.  She also lets me and Michelle teach her stuff.  And she occasionally lets my mom teach her things.
It drives my mom crazy because she can't figure out why we're all so different.  Maybe someday she'll understand.

        8.  Some people are a lot better at hiding their feelings than you would expect.  If you think about it, sometimes it's impossible to tell how people actually feel.  Some people could feel like screaming and crying on the inside, yet be able to have a believable smile and even a laugh on the outside.  Usually you can tell by looking in their eyes.  When people are really smiling there will actually be somewhat of a twinkle in their eyes.  If it's not there, then maybe they're not really as happy as they want you to believe.

        9.  Parents and teenagers will never understand eachother.  When a child turns into a teenager, they become opinionated.  Parents don't know how to handle this so they complain how teenagers are such terrible people with bad attitudes.  Actually, what they don't like is the fact that we don't agree with them on everything anymore.  We used to believe our parents knew everything, but when we start to grow up we realize that they're just people, like us, and they make a lot of mistakes too.  Therefor, we start to see them as equals and stop looking up to them.  They still see us as inferior and they hate the fact that we no longer see them as gods.  Therefor, they feel that they have to disagree with most of what we say because they don't want to give in to the fact that we're equal.

        10.  Listen to the "song" Sunscreen once a day.  You'd be surprised at the intelligence behind that "song".  There are many important lessons and tips for life in it.  The reason I put "song" in quotes like that is because he's not really singing it... more like talking with cool music in the background.  But it's still really good.  Another good thing to live by is the poem If by Rudyard Kipling.  If you've never read it, go check it out.

        11.  You may not realize this, but every person in the entire world has a different story.  You're not the only one with problems, and you're not the only person who's unhappy with the way your life is going (if you are unhappy).  It's important for you to realize this so you don't walk around thinking your life sucks, and it will never get better.  Because there are people that are a lot worse off than you.  It's weird, but you can walk down the street or around the mall and just look at people, and try to guess what they're thinking.  Every single person goes home to their own life with their own problems and their own responsibilities.  It truly amazes me.

        11.  Sometimes ignorance really is bliss.  I personally want to know everything.  Yes, everything.  But I can see why some people would rather go through life without knowing about a lot of the really bad stuff, such as poverty, heart break, child abuse, death, etc.  When you know about all that stuff, it's hard to smile and really mean it.  It's hard to look down at a small child and tell that child that everything will be okay, when you know of all the horrible things that are going on in the world.  Like I said, I want to know everything, but sometimes I'm finding myself wondering what it's like to not know anything.  To be able to believe that life is perfect and that I am invinsible.  Ignorance is bliss.  Although I'd rather know everything and never know true happiness than to ignore what is going on just to be happy.  People like that make me sick.

      12.  This isn't really a lesson, just something to think about.  Did you ever stop to think that during all the battles and war's that went on in the world before we were born, both sides were praying to the same God?  Both sides felt that God was with them and would help them win, however, in my opinion, I don't think God was with either side.  I don't think he would ever support what went on back then.  It just struck me as a little odd to think that both sides felt they were being supported by a God that would never betray them.

      13.  Don't get to know someone because you think you like them.  Get to know them, and THEN decide if you like them.  I hate it when people think they're in love because someone "looks good" to them.  Relationships shouldn't be about that.  Not at all......

      14.  If something is bothering you, you have to get away.  Even if the farthest you can get is to your own bedroom....  Lock the door.  Listen to some music or enjoy the silence.  The trick is to just be by yourself so that you can have some time to think.  Personally, I like to go to a certain spot in the woods  where there's a big empty clearing with one huge tree right in the center, and a very large tree stump about 5 yards away.  I like to stand on the tree stump, close my eyes, and just stand there and think. It feels so good because it completely clears my head, and even if only for a brief moment, all of my problems disappear.  No matter what you do or where you go, you have to get away every once in a while or you'll go crazy.  Trust me.... You'll feel so much better... Even if you don't even have any problems at the time and your life is stress free (though i find that hard to believe), you'll feel so much better if you can just give yourself some time alone to think.