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These are all things I have thought of and/or done during my short life. I try to live by them, "try" being the key word.

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Just be, with hope but without expectations, bad or good.

Nobody knows you better than you know yourself. Advice and criticism from trusted friends is valuable, but never let a negative person poison your thoughts. It�s true that you can do and be anything; it�s also true that you must recognize your strengths and weaknesses.

Own your triumphs and your mistakes. Accept compliments graciously; accept defeat graciously. Begin to determine which pitfalls were unavoidable and which came about through your own doing. Don�t respond with anger; either accept the inevitable or work to make changes. Anger is useless against fate and against your own self.

Pick your friends wisely. Good friends are like gold. Sometimes you have to let go of a friend for one reason or the other. Warning: this may be one of the hardest things you ever have to do. But you won�t be able to move on with your life until then.

Never resist the opportunity to be educated. This goes for anything from auto mechanics to fine literature.

Be nice to people, especially strangers; you never know what kind of day a person is having, and you never know where you might find a new friend.