Story of My Life: My Big Three-Oh

Hi guys!

I turned 30 last Sunday. (I can’t believe it either :D ) and to celebrate this huge milestone I wanted to share with you a few lessons that life has taught me over these 30 years.

I thought that a list of 30 would have a nice ring to it… Compiling it turned out harder than I expected it to be, so I improvised a little ;)

It’s by no means a comprehensive list, but maybe some of these points will resonate with you.

(I take credit for only a few of these. Most of them were read or heard and remembered by me.)

EITHER – też (too)

a MILESTONE –  an important event in the development or history of something or in someone's life

to HAVE A NICE RING TO IT – dobrze, odpowiednio brzmieć (be pleasant to hear/listen to)

to COMPILE A LIST – tworzyć listę (to make a list)

to TURN OUT – okazać się (to be known or discovered finally and surprisingly)

to IMPROVISE – improwizować (  to invent or make something, such as a speech or a device, at the time when it is needed without already having planned)

BY NO MEANS – wcale, w żadnym wypadku (not at all)

COMPREHENSIVE – wyczerpująca (complete)

IT RESONATES WITH ME. – utożsamiam się z tym, myślę podobnie (I can relate to it. I feel the same way about it.

TO TAKE CREDIT FOR SOMETHING – przypisywać sobie coś (to say that something is/was your idea)

1.If you don’t smoke cigarettes, it’s ok to splurge on takeaway coffee instead. 

2.Smile as often as you can. It makes your life easier.

3.Learn to love your body. 

4.Even in a bad day you can always find something good, something optimistic, something you can hold onto when everything else seems to suck.

5.Work is about making money just as much as it is about loving what you do and having a passion for it.

TO SPLURGE ON – zaszaleć, wykosztować się (to spend a lot of money on)

TAKEAWAY – na wynos (made and bought at a shop or restaurant but taken somewhere else, often home)

to HOLD ONTO – here: to think about something, to remember about something

TO SUCK – być do bani (to be bad, lousy)

6.Don’t let the society dictate what you do or how you think. Keep an open mind.

7.Every person you meet in your life can teach you something valuable. 

8.A new hobby is a new you. Make sure you try out new things from time to time. You might like them.

9.People are there to use you, but once in a while you will meet someone who genuinely wants to help you and asks for nothing in exchange.

10.Music is the spice of life.

VALUABLE – cenny (worth a lot, precious)

ONCE IN A WHILE – raz na jakiś czas (sometimes but not often

GENUINELY – szczerze (really, honestly)

IN EXCHANGE  –  w zamian (when you give something to someone and they give you something else)

11.Everyone has insecurities. Some people are just better at concealing them.

12.Change doesn’t happen overnight. Be patient.

13.Things you don’t like about yourself might be the things others most love about you. 

14.Find ways to express yourself.

15.Don’t take yourself too seriously.

AN INSECURITY – kompleks (a complex, a weakness)

to CONCEAL – ukrywać (to hide)

OVERNIGHT – dnia na dzień (suddenly, at once)

to EXPRESS YOURSELF – wyrazić (to show who you 

are, what you believe in, etc.)

16.Do your work well. That will make you feel good.

17.Introverts are just as cool as extroverts.

18.There are moments in your life when you need a pet more than a human.

19.Doing things on your own in fun. Love your own company.

20.You are only as old as you feel.

an INTROVERT – introwertyk (someone who is shy, quiet and unable to make friends easily)

an EXTROVERT – ekstrawertyk (an energetic, happy person who enjoys being with other people)

ON YOUR OWN – samemu (alone)

SOMEBODY’S COMPANY – towarzystwo (people who are with you)

21.Take care of your mental and physical health. 

22.Pale is the new tan. Unless you like sunbathing. Then sunbathe as much as you wish :P

23.You don’t have to like everybody and not everybody is going to like you.

24.If it feels the right thing to do, you should do it. 

25.Listen to other people’s advice and then do what you wanted to do in the first place :)

PALE – blady (not brown, with white skin)

TAN – opalony (with brown skin)

UNLESS – chyba, że (except if)

to SUNBATHE – opalać się (to stay in the sun in order to get a tan/ get brown)

IN THE FIRST PLACE – na początku (in the beginning)

26.Everybody needs a day off sometimes.

27.Numbers are not everything in life. There are good things in life that you can’t measure in digits.

28.Other people make mistakes. Let them know how you feel about those mistakes and then try to forgive them for making them.

29.If something doesn’t work out the way you wanted, it’s not the end of the world.

30.Rules are meant to be broken.

A DAY OFF – wolny dzień (a lazy day, a one-day vacation)

to MEASURE – zmierzyć (to see how big, long, heavy etc. something is)

DIGITS – cyfry (numbers from 0 to 9)

RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN. – Zasady są po to, żeby je łamać.