I’m offline, so I’m leaving this for you. In 20 days I’ll be 50, I thought I’d share some wisdom with you. Based lousely on this blog post.

50 things I know at 50 (that I didn’t know at 25)

1. There are no “speshul snowflakes”. We’re all the same but different.

2. What you sow, you reap – don’t to to others what you don’t want done to you.

3. Nobody should tell you how to live your life. Just do it – follow your heart.

4. Don’t try to fulfill someone else’s dream. Dream your own and dream big.

5. Be your special self, always. Changing to please others won’t help – neither you nor them.

6. Don’t bother about what other people think about you. What makes you think they’re thinking about you anyway?

7. Don’t be too hot-headed. Count to ten or wait until the morning after before calling or hitting “send”.

8. Friends will be friends forever. Real friends are not fleeting online presences. But the can be on the other side of the world and still be friends. Even if you never met in person.

9. We meet whomever we’re supposed to meet in this life – whether it’s a lesson or just a passing blessing.

10. You are complete. Don’t look for someone to complete you.

11. Don’t let the world drain you. Spend time with those who love and understand you.

12. Speak for yourself. Not for everybody else.

13. Be original. Be yourself. Mastering everything is a certain way not to succeed in anything.

14. Love yourself – body and mind. If you think you’re ugly, the world will see you as ugly. Think of yourself of beautiful and healthy instead.

15. Life is colorful – try not to be color-blind!

16. Only you can take care of yourself.

17. Life is under no obligation to give you what you expect.

18. Don’t try to change the world, or it will change you.

19. Don’t try to fit in at all costs – who is trying to fit in with you? Nobody? Exactly.

20. Be yourself. And remember – you’re great!

21. Happiness is… little things, really. Stop trying to look at the big picture and concentrate on the details.

22. Daydreaming is all right. Follow your heart.

23. You don’t have to give in to peers pressure. Seriously.

24. Nobody should force you to get married, get pregnant, have sex, do things that you don’t feel like doing but you think you must do because everybody else says so.

25. You are who you are, not what you have. And your material possessions won’t follow you anyway in your next life…

26. If you don’t love yourself, nobody else will. Be your own fan.

27. Don’t forget to tell yourself how great you are. If you don’t, nobody else will.

28. Oh, and, by the way, if you’re a woman – there’s no Happily Ever After. Fairy tales are just that – tales!

29. Stop looking for a non-existent Prince Charming right now – love is something else!

30. Passions burn out. Hormones go to sleep. You will settle! 🙂

31. Focus your attention on what you want and it will reflect in the outside world. If you think that the world is an ugly, dangerous, unfair disgusting place, that’s what you’ll see. If you believe that the world is a magical and beautiful place full of love, sharing, kindness and beauty, it will be for you.

32. Reprogram yourself to be what you want to be, not what society expects you to be. You can be beautiful and healthy by simply knowing that you are. Don’t think you are, know you are.

33. What you focus on has a powerful effect on how you perceive the world and you are perceived by others. If you wallow in self-pity, you’ll be seen as a whiny person.

34. Just be happy – happiness is… little things, really, and I’ve already said that – and your happiness will come through and attract similar-minded people.

35. Friends will be friends, but when money is involved, they become frenemies and sometimes real foes. Put it all in writing – verba volant, scripta manent!

36. You are unique and you should find your own solutions to your problems – or allow your soul to find them for you. No need to listen to confusing advice from other people, what worked for them might now work for you.

37. Like is change, so your body will change, you mindset will change and there’s nothing wrong about it. Those physical sicknesses are sometimes created by your soul preparing you a big surprise.

38. Accept life’s surprises and don’t try to keep the balance at all costs. In this duality world there’s no balance and everything is constantly in movement.

39. Don’t fight it, and you’ll feel much better. Just let go.

40. Forgive and forget. Life is too short to live it with grudges and hatred. Move on.

41. Don’t live in fear. You will lose your material possessions, so no need to cling to them. You will lose your life eventually, so no need to hide in a cocoon for fear of losing it.

42. We are all different, so fearing the difference means you’ll never be able to enjoy life.

43. There is no status quo. Learn to follow your own way and choose your goals wisely. You might have to adjust and experiment, and you will certainly fall, but just get back on your feet and keep going.

44. Find your light in the night and follow it – try not to stray too much from your chosen path.

45. You have your own beauty and it’s unique to you. In the words of someone who is much more famous than me and has 15million fans, treasure your own beauty.

46. Pay it forward. Whatever you learn, share it – but don’t preach. Some people don’t want to hear it. If they ask, answer, if not, mind your own business! 🙂

47. Don’t worry, be happy. And being alone is fine, really.

48. There is no one-size-fits-all way of live. Carve your own.

49. Define your idea of success and stick to it – not to whatever everybody else says about success.

50.And don’t forget to say thank you. for the good and the bad.

Now I’m going to add my signature to an introvert’s open letter to extroverts. Feel free to ignore me for the time being! 😀

Because today I’m in Torino stalk… ehm, assisting Terry Moore with his Italian fans, I scheduled this post – yes, that’s how us Virgo work. My friend Fulvio calls me “control freak”, but when you get a discount on train tickets (69euro instead of 90, 39 instead of 45) because you buy them 1 month in advance, it’s not “control freak”, it’s savvy “early booker”! 🙂

Anyway, last week an elder woman (dunno her age, but definitely menopause…) wanted to give me her seat on the bus. First of all, the bus wasn’t full. Second, I had taken it only for two stops because the spring “heat” made me not feel like walking (which I normally would have if it were winter). So I politely said “no thank you” with a smile and saw she kept staring at me with a worried look. So I pushed the button to get off, and even if I was considering getting off at the third stop, I got off at the second at that point.

Why, you wonder? Well, it’s spring and more tight fitting clothes and probably the way I was carrying myself… It was after lunch, and after eating I tend to have a nice belly bump the old lady probably mistook as “baby” bump! ARGH!!! I wondered if I was carrying myself like a pregnant woman, but I was just standing on the bus, what gave her that idea?!?!?!

The past two summers customers kept asking me if I was pregnant – the way I sit at DayJob obviously confuses them. I’m slim, look 10 or 15 years younger, but being nearly 50, my body shape changed, and I get that stupid belly bump which makes everybody think I’m pregnant. Excuse me? What’s with the breeding fever?

To avoid controversy, I just smile and shrug and say “thanks but no thanks” or something. But it’s getting tiring and I really really really look forward to menopause when I’ll be able to tell them “I have menopause, so stop asking, you …”. Nosy people really get on my nerves. But then, I hate compliments, especially on appearance.

OK, I guess I’m ready to get out of this material world! 🙂 I really don’t see the point of being so attached to material things or the need to continue what is obviously a flawed breed. Let’s toast to the end of the world as we know it, LOL! 🙂

Now Happy Fangirl Barb goes back to work… oh, yeah, it’s scheduled, so I’m already working! Maybe not, maybe I’m just coming out of Fulvio’s house to get to the Comicon. Anyway, I wish you a wonderful weekend, and if the Sunday Excerpts doesn’t come out… it’s because I forgot to schedule it before jumping on that train! 😉