The Most Important Lesson Selena Gomez Learned Last Year

Selena Gomez is again occupying her throne as social media queen in 2017, and she's doing it her way. The singer, who first returned to Instagram in late November after a "rejuvenating" 90 day vacation from her phone, tried her hand at the platform's new live-streaming feature on Sunday. Rather than showing off her fabulous shoe collection or gorgeous views of the San Fernando valley, Gomez shared a thoughtful conversation among friends. The Instagram Live video features Gomez sitting around outside with a few friends, enjoying brunch burritos and iced coffees while reflecting on life the past year. "The biggest lesson that I’ve been learning since 2016 would definitely be awareness," Gomez said. "I think it’s really important to be aware of where you are in your life. The people that you’re surrounding yourself with, the people that are purposefully the ones your spending time with." Gomez, who retreated from the limelight in August to focus on taking care of her lupus and depression, explained how she and her friends try to stay self-aware and, just as connected to each other. "Sometimes we’ll go to dinner and we'll leave and we’ll think ‘that was such a pointless dinner. What did I learn from it? What will I gain from it? What was the point of it?’" Gomez mused. "And other nights we’ll end up just sitting at the table for five hours with friends. We’re constantly checking in with each other." That sounds like exactly the kind of support system that Gomez — and any 20-something woman, really — could use in her life.