Twenty-Five
*Cue Quarter Life Crisis*
Yes - I am 25! Ooh boy.
How do I feel you might ask?
I feel good, really good actually. My birthday is on July 24 and I woke up on my birthday looking a hot mess but feeling joyful, happy and excited. I’m at peace with being 25. I think for so long I was hyping it up a lot, thinking “ah mid 20’s” instead of thinking how amazing it is. A quarter of a century - how good. It’s a new chapter and my time to blossom into an amazing woman, take control of my life and walk this crazy journey called life with more confidence, grace and class.
The morning of my birthday, the first thing I did was open my journal and I started dot pointing out things that I love about myself, things that I’m learning and things I want to do going into this new chapter.
Apologies if these don’t make sense, but this is coming straight out of my journal in the same order I wrote them in, and it was early morning.
Knowing i have time / don’t rush
25 is still young
Experiencing loss has really opened my eyes and shown me how precious life is
Going after everything I want full force and with love & passion
Having self-love and not allowing people to tear me down
Proud of my heart. I love how i love and care for people
Leaning into who i am
learning to be unapologetic
I am enough and always was
Feeling free
Showing up for myself
No matter my age, I can accomplish whatever, I just have to start
I’m not going to wait for people to do right by me
I’m strong as hell
My resilience is one of my favourite things I about myself
Putting things into action
Create opportunities for myself
It’s weird, I’ve been out of high school for almost 10 years – that’s crazy to me but at the same time it doesn’t seem that long ago. So many questions run through my head on the daily. Did I choose the right career path? Am I on track to being financially independent? How am I going to buy my own place in this market? Should I be having kids by now? Am I doing this right?
When I was in high school and I thought about my mid-20’s, I didn’t really have a plan. The only thing that was really on my mind was establishing my career. I thought by 25 I would be on track to my dream career, and I am nowhere near where I want to be yet, and that’s one of the biggest challenges that I’ve been dealing with recently. It’s actually been weighing on my mind so much that I would get so frustrated at work and would lack motivation with what I was doing… It’s hard.
There’s this quote:
“Comparison is the thief of joy”,
Theodore Roosevelt said this and it is so powerful. I mean come on, talk about a quote. Everyone is figuring it out. I’m learning to go at my own pace, to not rush and most important, to not compare myself to others.
This year I’m going to stop being so hard on myself. There is pressure and a lot of the time, it’s me putting it on myself. A little bit of pressure can be good but I know that when it gets to a point where I feel overwhelmed and I start thinking negatively, that’s when I need to take a step back.
One thing I know for sure is that I don’t want to waste my life, and I don’t want to spend my precious days focusing on the negatives. Take the lesson and keep it movin’. Life is short, I am getting older and I only have time for things and people that bring me joy, lift me up and inspire me to do better. I deserve the best.
I believe the universe is guiding me in the right direction, no matter how confused and lost I feel at times, everything that is happening is for a reason.
I used to think that the bigger step I take, the bigger the outcome will be, but I’m learning that it’s not always the case, it’s just about taking a step and continuing to put one foot in front of the other. My focus now is taking small steps, and knowing that regardless of how small or big the step may be, there’s beauty in it and it will lead to something amazing. I just have to stay consistent.
More than ever, I’m just in a mindset of minding my business, being a kind person, focusing on my goals and thriving in every aspect of life. This year is about me levelling up.
My perspective on life has changed as well, and it will continue to change as I get older, but I just realise how valuable every single day is, and I don’t want to spend my precious time constantly in a state of anxiety, and worrying about what other people are doing or saying. It’s not healthy, I need to cut it out.
There are so many things I want to achieve both personally and professionally. Life is not easy, it can really test you, and people can test you, but no matter what I go through, I always make it to the other side; stronger, wiser and braver.
So many words come to mind when I think about my 25th year of life, but if could give you five right now, they would be:
JOY | HAPPINESS | PEACE | GOALS | FOCUS