17 Lessons Selena Gomez Can Teach Twentysomethings About Life

    Sometimes the heart just wants what it wants.

    Kelley Dunlap
    by Kelley Dunlap

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. Go ahead and take that selfie!

    2. But make sure you take plenty of pictures of your friends too.

    3. As an adult, it can be hard to let yourself be open to new experiences and people, but it's important to stay vulnerable.

    Giphy / Via giphy.com

    "The older I've gotten, the more I've learned that I have to open myself up to all opportunities," Selena told Teen Vogue in 2013. "Maybe I'll get burned and not meet the right people, but I won't know until I do it."

    4. You're allowed to be excited about your own success.

    Selena Gomez @selenagomez

    My face when I saw my billboard in TIME SQUARE!!! What!!!? ☺️😂

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    5. Sometimes, the heart just wants what it wants.

    http://giphy.com/gifs/heart-what-wants-sSQZ8YQ6psgZa

    Not every relationship you're going to be in is going to make sense from the outside. Not every relationship you're going to be in will be fully healthy and equitable. That's OK. You live, you love, and you learn.

    6. And only you know the truth about your relationships.

    Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

    Recently, Selena set the record straight about her relationship with Justin Bieber: "I think people want it to be different," she explained in an interview with Elle magazine. "We're too young for [real drama]. Nobody was married. There was no…. I respect him. And I think he respects me, in a healthy manner."

    7. You should know how to make at least one healthy meal from scratch.

    8. On a related note: try to find a workout you can at least tolerate.

    9. It's OK to not be OK sometimes.

    Selena Gomez @selenagomez

    Had major anxiety at the airport. Not feeling good at all..

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    You don't have to have it fully together at every moment. Give yourself permission and space to have bad days.

    10. When the going gets tough, the tough go out dancing.

    http://katielovesnyc13.tumblr.com/post/129947351208
    http://kaliforklassss.tumblr.com/post/60661436021

    "My attention span is all over the place, and I overthink things," Selena told Teen Vogue in 2013. "I'm an insomniac. Dancing allows me to go away and not have to think of what I'm doing next. That is the opportunity for me to really escape."

    11. Take care of yourself the way you would take care of a friend.

    Jason Merritt / Getty Images

    In the October issue of Latina magazine, Selena admitted "the habit of being so mean to myself" was the hardest thing she's ever had to overcome. "I was my own worst critic," she explained. "There's so much pressure to be a certain way. I had to stop and stand back and say, 'is this good for me?' It's about awareness; now I allow myself to take care of myself."

    12. Go play outside!

    13. Listen to your doubts and fears — they're trying to tell you something.

    Giphy / Via giphy.com

    After years of depending on managers and advisors, Selena recently took control of her career. It was a big, important step. One that allowed her to start making the art she always wanted to make. But it required a lot of soul-searching and difficult decisions. "I knew deep down that this wasn't what I wanted to do — being exhausted of forcing something that wasn't right, even in my personal life," she told the New York Times. "I had to have moments where I was crying and I was like, 'Why am I not in love with what I do?' I was forced to get very uncomfortable for a while in order to make the decisions I made."

    14. Find a system of support that will be there with you through good and bad.

    Selena Gomez @selenagomez

    Today I'm thankful for my beautiful pastors. They are a constant.

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    15. Love the skin you're in.

    16. You call the shots now!

    Giphy / Via giphy.com

    "I definitely remind myself that I'm in control," Selena told the New York Times. "I feel like ultimately if I sit down and I think about a decision I need to make, it's really within myself. I make the decision. Everything goes through me."

    17. Also: tacos are better at midnight.

    Selena Gomez @selenagomez

    When you're all in bed about to go to sleep but one person mentions tacos... (Me)

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    It's just a fact.