Hello Friends,
It’s my Birthday!! I am officially in my twenties!! Leading up to this magical day, many people have asked me how I feel about it, and the truth is I am a little sad, and that is okay. Although my teenage years were tough, there is magic that comes with being a teenager. Teenagers see life in a unique way that I don’t think is possible at any other stage of life, and I am still mourning the fact that this has come to a close for me. Even though it was a trying time for me, being a teenager was also fantastic in many ways, and it is difficult to move on from that.
That leads me to my first piece of advice; it is okay to feel sad or scared or any other emotion when it comes to your birthday and whatever age you are turning. Allow yourself to feel whatever emotions are coming up for you. Birthdays are a big deal in our society, especially milestone birthdays such as 13, 18, 20, 30, etc. So, facing one can feel like the ending of an era, which can be tricky, overwhelming and scary. Birthdays hold a certain level of expectation and can feel like you are walking into an unknown. However, the end of one era also marks the beginning of a new era, which is so exciting!
Society teaches us to look forward to growing up, but once we do, we are taught to fear and dread aging. Here is how I look at it; being any age is a blessing! I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to be in my twenties! To face the world with more knowledge and wisdom than before. To learn to be independent and make the world my own. There was a point in my life where I didn’t think I would make it past 18, but here I am, a 20-year-old girl braving the world!
That is my second piece of advice: reflection and gratitude. Whether the last year has been the best or the worst of your life, reflect on the things you did well and what you want to work on for next year. Also, find space to be grateful for all this last year brought you and taught you. Every experience, whether good or bad, has led you to be who you are today, which is something to be grateful for.
Everyone will tell you something different about your twenties; some will say it is the best years of your life, and some will say it is the worst. I think the twenties are for figuring it out. No one knows what they are doing in their twenties….absolutely NO ONE. That’s the point; everyone is trying to figure it out. I think your twenties are a time for taking the most significant risks, trying everything, and not caring if you look like an idiot. I think your twenties are for having fun.
This Year I Want to Live.
This brings me to my third advice: take in only as much as you can at any given time. Just because you are entering your twenties or thirties doesn’t mean you must take in or plan out the whole decade. Nor do you have to take in a whole year just because you got a new age. At the end of the day, no significant transformation is going to happen overnight. You have time. So focus on as much as possible at any given time, whether an hour, day, week or year.
There is a quote commonly used around New Year’s that says, “This year I survived; next year I want to live.” That is precisely my hope for my twenties. I survived through my teen years, which is impressive. Because it put me ahead of the game. Allow me to explain. Because my teens were so hard, I was forced to learn many essential life lessons that most people don’t learn until much later in life. With this advanced knowledge of life, I am set up to go out, live and have fun during my twenties.
Laura, what did you just tell them about looking at/planning for the whole decade? Right, sorry, sorry. Let’s just talk about today instead. 19 was a lot of fun! However, it was also a lot of hard work, growth and transformation, and to be real, I am tired. So, there will be no big birthday blowout for me this year. My mom always plans a special surprise for me so I am looking forward to that. Then I shall cozy up with whatever birthday treat I choose and watch my birthday movie of choice. (It will probably be Home Alone 2: Lost in New York…again)
This takes us to my final advice: make your special day what you want. If you want a big party, great, all the power to you! But if you aren’t feeling up to that or don’t want to for any other reason, don’t. Just because it is your birthday doesn’t mean you have to eat cake, have a party, swing a bat at a cartoon character blindfolded, or do anything else you don’t want to. THIS IS YOUR DAY. So celebrate in whatever way will bring you the most joy!
For my birthday, I have created a fundraiser in support of EveryMind. A mental health charity that supports children and families struggling with mental health. It will be open until Christmas and would mean the world to me if you donated, as you are able!
Until next week, My Friends!
P.S. I’m proud of you 😉
Happy Birthday to YOU!