Congratulations! As a new graduate your possibilities seem endless, and you are eager to make an impact on the world. The last round of finals may be over, but there is still an infinite amount of studying to be done — learning to balance a budget, to hunt for the perfect apartment, to cook for yourself, to negotiate a job offer, and the list of the unlearned goes on and on.

The most important thing I learned in my 20s is that one thing leads to another. Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer for Facebook clearly states,  “There is no straight path from today to where you are going.  Don’t try to draw a line to that.  You will just get it wrong. Your career and life will have starts and stops, zigs and zags. Don’t stress about the path that you can’t draw — because therein lies the surprises and the opportunities.”

When students graduate from college and go out into life, they may need some helpful tips or advice on how to make it in the "real world.”  This advice can also apply to just about everyone.

Do not ignore your own needs. Trying to please everybody is a mission impossible. You will never be able to do that. And while you are taking care about everybody else’s needs, who is taking care of yours? Giving too much of yourself and saying yes too often is something many people are accustomed to doing to avoid conflicts and feelings of guilt. A sincere desire to give is wonderful; however, there is a distinction between giving of yourself and giving up yourself.

Everyone is different, and nobody knows better than you what you really want and need. So, sit down and take a moment to think about your desires. Tune out outside voices, follow your emotions and they will tell you what you need. As you respect your own desires and boundaries and stop repressing them, you will experience increased energy, less anxiety, and less stress on your body. Even more, others have a chance to see who you really are and get to know you on a deeper level.

Do not feel bad for making a mistake.  If you do not make mistakes, there are no challenges and no chances for personal growth. Not wanting to make mistakes means you will not get to try new things and learn new things. Mistakes are also valuable lessons that will stick with us forever and make us better people.

If you mess up, it’s easy to think that if you were only smarter, more productive or more visionary it wouldn’t have happened. But — take it from Oprah, “Messing up big time happens even to those you would least expect. So, do not be too hard on yourself, and instead start looking for ways to redirect your energy.”

Do not try to control every aspect of your life. Life is unpredictable, and that is the beauty of it. Trying to control everything in your life is like trying to control the weather — simply not possible. Yes, there is rain and storm, but there is also sun and rainbows. There is no point in stressing out about something you simply cannot change.

The trick is to go with the flow and look forward to the unknown. Life would be so boring if everything was planned in advance. Try to not have every step of every day planned. I learned from my experience there are always unpredictable situations, and I used to get frustrated if things were not going the way I planned. Now, I don’t make detailed plans and always have room for improvisation.

Do not put off your dreams. If you have a passion that drives you, start pursuing it immediately, do not wait.  There is never a perfect time to pursue your dream. The conditions will never be perfect, and the longer you wait, the more difficult it will be for you to start. Ellen DeGeneres said at Tulane University, "Follow your passion, stay true to yourself, never follow someone else's path. Unless you're in the woods and you're lost and you see a path, then by all means you should follow that… Be true to yourself and everything will be fine.”

When I graduated from college, I was disappointed to discover that the Venn diagram between Stuff I Liked to Do and Stuff People Would Pay Me to Do contained very little overlap. Today, I understand that this is a totally normal predicament — especially when you are in the beginning stages of your career and life. The important thing is to find ways to do the stuff you like regardless.

Waste no time in carving out space for the things that make you happy. When you do something you love, all the pieces will come together. If you have fun cooking, start a YouTube channel that documents your experiments with eating on the cheap. If you like drawing comics, volunteer to teach a course for kids at a local after-school program. This is how you will get the experience you need to (maybe!) get paid for stuff you like doing, and meet people who are interested in the same stuff as you

Do not forget the small things in your life. We often believe that only big things can make us happy, such as buying an expensive car. But everyday small things are the real key to happiness, as these are the things that make us feel better at any moment of every day, while big things do not come so often.

Find at least one small thing that will make you happier every single day, such as eating an ice-cream, drinking that first cup of tea in the morning (mine), listening to your favorite music, or just sitting in the park in the sun. Cherish and practice those things constantly.

Focus on what is around you and what you are doing now. When drinking your morning coffee, don’t think about things you need to do, just breathe in and enjoy your coffee. By focusing on now, you will feel more energized and concentrated.

Be true to who you are.  Steve Jobs, former Apple CEO, at his Harvard speech stated, “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”

Know or uncover those values that are most important to you and commit to never compromising or bending them for anyone. Work to make others feel heard, cared for, valued and respected and expect the same in return. Embrace your idiosyncrasies, it is the differences in approaches and mindsets that when combined, in the form of the collective intelligence, that yields the best outcomes.

Success in college and life comes from gaining knowledge and skills. The more you take responsibility for carving your own path of adventure, the more your personal happiness will increase.  Enjoy!