Relationships

Kenzie Elizabeth’s ‘28 Things I’ve Learned in 28 Years’ Is Basically a Survival Guide for Your 20s

March 8, 2026

Kenzie Elizabeth Shares Her 28 Life Lessons — Image: Kristin Berntzen

Kenzie Elizabeth is back with another “lessons” episode, but she’s not pretending it’s some ultimate life manual. She’s only 28, she’s still figuring it out, and that’s kind of the point.

In this solo House Guest chat, she walks through 28 things she’s picked up from her twenties so far—what grief has changed in her, what she’s had to learn about friendship, and the mindset shifts that helped her stop spiraling over every unknown. Some of the lessons are simple and practical, others are the ones you usually only learn after you ignore a few red flags, overextend yourself, or stay loyal to something that’s already run its course.

Kenzie Elizabeth Shares Her 28 Life Lessons

Here are Kenzie’s 28 lessons, adapted from the episode into an easy list you can save and come back to.

You know nothing—and that’s OK. Life gets lighter when you stop demanding certainty. The sooner you accept that you’re still figuring things out, the easier it is to actually learn.
Read and read and read. It’s therapy, escape, and learning wrapped into one habit. Books expose you to lives, ideas, and perspectives you’d never encounter otherwise.
Don’t take yourself too seriously (learn to laugh at yourself). Life feels a lot less heavy when you stop treating every small embarrassment like a catastrophe.
Stop speaking negatively about yourself (talk to yourself like you would a friend). The way you talk to yourself quietly shapes how you move through the world.
If you’re unhappy in a friendship dynamic, do something about it (adjust expectations/standards or accept it’s not for you). Sitting in the same frustration over and over rarely changes anything.
Family is everything (and she’s clear she wants to live near hers). Being close to the people who know you best becomes more valuable as you get older.
Rest and being lazy are not the same thing (some “off” days actually drain you more). Real rest should leave you feeling refueled, not more depleted.
Trust your gut (but you have to learn what it sounds like, and she says you learn that in silence). Intuition gets clearer when you stop drowning it out with noise.
Prayer works. Taking a moment to pause, reflect, and surrender can bring clarity when everything else feels chaotic.
It’s not your job to make others understand you. Especially the wrong people. It’s not worth your time or energy. The people meant to be close to you usually don’t require constant explanation.
Slow down. The answers are usually already within you. Most clarity shows up when you stop rushing and give yourself space to think.
Stop giving people endless benefit of the doubt. You can see the good in someone while still having boundaries. Compassion shouldn’t come at the expense of your own peace.
Pay attention to patterns, not potential. Potential isn’t real—behavior is. Who someone consistently shows themselves to be matters more than who you hope they’ll become.
A red flag doesn’t turn green. Ignoring it usually just delays the lesson.
You can love people from afar. Not every relationship needs close access. Sometimes distance is the healthiest way to keep peace in your heart.
Measure the gain, not the gap. Focus on how far you’ve come instead of how far you still have to go. Constantly moving the goalpost makes progress impossible to appreciate.
You lose yourself when you stop spending time with yourself. Solitude is where you actually hear your own thoughts.
A morning routine helps you reconnect with yourself every day. Even small rituals can anchor you before the world starts pulling at your attention.
What you want will change over time. That’s normal, be okay with it. Growth often means letting go of the version of life you once thought you wanted.
Grief doesn’t get smaller. Your world gets bigger around it. Over time, you build more life around the loss so it no longer takes up all the space.
Confidence comes from keeping promises to yourself. Trusting yourself grows through small acts of follow-through.
Live from an eternal perspective. Life isn’t infinite. Don’t let the small things stop you in your tracks. Zooming out makes most everyday stress feel much smaller.
Hobbies bring peace, joy, and fulfillment. Doing something simply because you enjoy it adds balance to everything else.
Show up. For yourself, your work, and the people you care about. For the good, and the bad. Consistency often matters more than perfection.
Be careful of people who think everyone is jealous of them or out to get them. That mindset tends to create drama where none existed before.
A good friend shows up for both the hard moments and the good ones. Real support means celebrating wins just as much as comforting losses.
Be an encourager. Everyone needs a push. A few kind words can mean more than you realize.
Stop overtherapizing yourself into the wrong thing. Sometimes a situation simply isn’t right, and no amount of analysis will change that.