Standing on my own. Keren's Manifesto.

Oh how freeing it is to learn that one's own Acres of Diamonds are with them and with them alone. In early 20's, it is quite easy to think that one's worth is tied to who they know. It is so freeing to learn that those things do not matter at all.

You cultivate your own acres of diamonds and your own life. He who stands alone withstands the storm. Think about that before you attach your worth to how many friends you have or the kind of guy you are dating.

At the end of the day, what matters is the heart of the person. How they are towards others, what their values are, and what they have accomplished on their own.

We are now in our 20's and trust me, as we approach our 30's, life will create a situation where people will be forced to mind their own business and make lives of their own.

I watched this happen with millennials. Those who centered their lives around others reached 27-28 and had nothing tangible to show for themselves.

I see many Gen Z making the same mistakes. Yes, it's good to cultivate healthy relationships, but I am talking about those who take it to a toxic level and think that they will simply lie and manipulate their way through life. Be wary, those tricks work in teenage years, but the older people grow, the wiser they become (even the dumbest of the dumbest becomes wiser with age). This is the decade where people will see through lies and manipulation, and those who have planned for that to be their life's tactic will be exposed.

Personally, I have learnt to stand on my own. Yes, I would like a community, and a healthy marriage, but I see that in my early 20's, the universe wants me to mine my diamonds and gold, as opposed to looking at what others are doing.

So I will put my head down, like the alchemist does in his lab, and I will focus on what I focus on. My age-mates may look down on me for petty reasons, but at the end of the day, we will see each other, when all the hype of youth has died out, we will look at each other and see what all the intense judgement and bad behavior was about.