5 Huge Mistakes I Made Before Turning 21

Start your business as soon as possible.

“You have what now?!”

My mom had a mammogram a year ago. They found a small lump in her breast, but the doctor assumed it was an error on the machine’s part.

Apparently, mistakes like that happen all of the time.

So I waited for my mom to tell me what happened. Days went by…almost as if she hid it from me.

I finally asked her over the phone and a sharp silence pierced through our audio.

“I have cancer.”

Those three words changed me for the rest of my life.

It also reminded me of one out of five mistakes I made before turning 21 — I didn’t value my loved ones often enough.

I didn’t value my loved ones often enough.

This past July, I lost my aunt and a childhood friend of mine in the same week. Going to funerals back to back felt like getting hit by a bus twice.

Seeing my cousin ball his eyes out in agony for the loss of his mother was a culture shock.

It made me think about how long I have left. How long does my grandma have left? How long does my mom have left?

I appreciate the smaller moments in life now.

I check in on my family as much as possible. That way, if I lose anyone else, I’ll have no regrets.

I didn’t start my writing business sooner.

Part of me still resents myself for not starting my side hustle a couple of years earlier.

You see, I used to be that impatient kid who never understood the power of consistency. I always chalked my writing failures up to not being good at cold calls.

It never occurred to me that you can’t get clients over the phone with one poem in your portfolio (dummy Khadejah).

Now I realize that it’s going to take at least five years for me to be successful at this game.

There’s no such thing as overnight success.

So…I wait…and write.

I didn’t read any books.

Atomic Habits by James Clear is one of the best books I’ve ever read.

I never got so much knowledge and encouragement from reading one book. It solidified everything I mentioned previously about being patient and consistent.

I guess reading a bunch of college textbooks all day can soak the fun out of reading. I used to be a readaholic back in elementary school.

I’m not where I used to be, but I’m easing back into the book world.

I’m currently reading Think And Grow Rich By Napoleon Hill. We’ll see what happens.

I never cared about my diet.

It took YEARS for me to figure out the secret to weight loss.

Going to yearly physicals made me want to scurry to my bed with my tail tucked between my legs. I’d gain ten pounds every year.

The doctor always said that I’m not far from diabetes.

But I just couldn’t bring myself to do anything about it — until now.

I don’t know what clicked, but I changed my diet. I eat fewer carbs. I eat fewer calories. I work out five days a week.

Maybe seeing my family suffer from chronic diseases, especially with my mom's cancer, influenced me to get the ball rolling.

Now I’ve lost almost twenty pounds and counting.

Change your diet while you still can. It gets harder to lose weight the older you get.

I worried too much about being the smartest kid in school.

Going to an Ivy League college was my dream in high school.

I NEEDED to get into Harvard. My mom is a single parent with two daughters to raise. We didn’t have much money growing up.

Going to a great college and getting a high-paying job was our only way to get out of the hood.

After applying to every Ivy League I could imagine, I didn’t get into one. All those AP classes, fancy extracurriculars, and ACT practice tests went down the drain.

Oh well.

I’m sort of glad I don’t put that pressure on myself anymore. Heck, my sister and I got into Ohio State on full rides. That’s gotta count for something, right?

I may not be a chemical engineer, but I know I WILL be a successful writer.

So much so that a chemical engineer’s salary will be chump change compared to mine.

Don’t worry so much about academics. As long as you’re doing something you’re passionate about, nothing else matters.

Final Thought

Five terrible mistakes I made before turning 21 are:

1. I didn’t value my loved one often enough
2. I didn’t start my writing business sooner
3. I didn’t read any books
4. I never cared about my diet
5. I worried too much about being the smartest in school

Please don’t make the same mistakes I did. Trust me, you might regret it later on.

Stay Gucci.

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