There are so many times I remember speaking to older mentors who told me a lot of the things I go through are age-related. They told me once I got older, the problems I found so tough to work through wouldn’t seem that big at all.
I have to say, it’s pretty accurate advice. It took me a long time to really get a grip on my emotions and my reactions to the sh*tty parts of life.
For a while, I thought I’d never get to where I am now: stable. For the first time in years, I feel anything can go wrong and I can handle it.
While I reflect on the changes I’ve made, it’s hard to pinpoint what made the difference. There's no doubt I have developed healthier coping skills.
I’ve spent so much time mourning the end of my firsts, it never occurred to me I’m kind of happy they are over.
Here are six "first" experiences we all need to go through in order to become fully functioning adults:
I get it. It's an amazing feeling being in love for the first time, with absolutely zero baggage from the past.
But then, I think about the heartbreak that came with it and how absolutely unprepared I was for it. When I think about the breakups I’ve experienced in my adult life, I still knew I would get over them after enough time had passed.
I have enough accomplishments under my belt now to know I have value outside of the person I'm dating. But during the first time, I had none of that.
I drank way too much, was way too young and desperately wished I was back at home watching a movie with my mom. I made sure everyone knew it, too.
Oh, the anxiety. It was like high school all over again: navigating where to park your car, what to wear, who to talk to and finding people to sit with at lunch.
Except this time, you needed to pay attention and actually work for the money to pay for your expensive apartment.
Starting a new job is always scary and anxiety-provoking, but by your mid-20s, you finally realize the world isn’t out to get you.
Your manager just spent at least a month trying to find a good fit for your position, so the odds of him or her firing you over one mistake in your first three months are slim.
You’ll always try to do your best, but you aren’t going to have a panic attack every time you slip up.
It really is a crazy feeling. You can't wait to go to college and be on your own, but during that first half hour after your parents' departure, you feel sad and scared. I really will never forget that moment.
It took me a while to get used to a life without them. While I’m glad I did, it wasn’t a fun process.
When I entered my 20s, I found myself single and ready to casually date. I didn't want to be in a long-term relationship, but I found myself unable to cope with the ebb and flows of single life.
If I went out on a date and the guy didn't want to go on a second date, I would be devastated, even if I didn't really click with the guy.
It's happened enough times now for me to understand it's not always personal. Someone else will come along who will admire the aspects of my personality the previous person wasn't into.
The first time I had a one-night stand was a meaningful experience. By meaningful, I mean pretty sh*tty.
I felt used, and to be honest, I started to understand why people referred to these experiences as mistakes.
Going in, I really didn't think I'd have feelings afterward. I thought I could do the whole no-strings-attached thing.
Still, if it happens in the future, I'll know now to chalk it up as a mistake, rather than berating myself for sleeping with a guy who isn't calling me.
The first time I drove a car on my own. The first time I was able to go to the bar. The first New Year’s Eve away from my parents. The first time I traveled with friends.
I’ll always be nostalgic for the past, but it’s nice not to be so new at everything. I now have a good idea of how I usually respond to things.
A group of nuns dresses like prostitutes to infiltrate brothels and save victims of sex trafficking and slavery.
Founded in 2004, Talitha Kum currently consists of about 1,100 nuns and works undercover in at least 80 countries including Africa, the Philippines, Brazil and India.
Talitha Kum, Aramaic for "arise child," rescues prostitutes, as well as children who are sold into slavery, FOX News reports.
The money the organization raises is used to buy child slaves, many of whom are sold into slavery by their parents.
John Studzinski, an investment banker and chairman of Talitha Kum, told the Trust Women Conference on women's rights and trafficking hosted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation the nuns believe they are completely on their own in their mission.
They do not trust governments, they do not trust corporations, and they don't trust the local police. In some cases they cannot trust male clergy. They work in brothels. No one knows they are there.
Studzinski spoke of one sex slave who was denied food for a week and forced to eat her own excrement because she could not satisfy her assigned quota of 12 clients.
I'm not trying to be sensational, but I'm trying to underscore the fact this is a world that has lost innocence... where dark forces are active.
According to Daily Mail, the nuns earn as little as 2 cents an hour to expose mistreatment and were hired by several companies to detect wrongdoings within the slavery supply chains.
Talitha Kum estimates approximately 73 million people to be victims of some sort of trafficking, half of whom are reportedly 16 or younger.
Citations: Nuns pose as prostitutes to rescue victims of human sex trafficking (FOX News), The undercover nuns posing as prostitutes in brothels around the world to rescue sex slaves held prisoner by human traffickers (Daily Mail)