Hello! Last Thursday, the 29th of September 2016, marked my 21st birthday. As far as birthdays go, 21 is one of the 'milestones', so I thought I'd write a post to mark the occasion.
I also thought I'd share some baby photos because who doesn't love to embarrass themselves on the internet? Certainly not me anyway!
Growing up I always thought I was 'grown up' for my age. At 16 I thought I knew it all and had the world, and how it worked, all figured out. Everyone's in such a rush to grow up, I see the exact same urgency to know it all and be 'an adult' in my 16 year old sister as I had when I was her age. It's only now, at 21 years of age, when life seems to be passing me by faster and faster, that I wish I'd enjoyed the naivety and innocence that only youth can give you. This all sounds very sombre, I know, but to put it simply, who else misses falling asleep in the car and then somehow magically waking up tucked up in bed?!
When I turned 18, which most people would class as the age where you enter 'adulthood', I was confident in the fact that I had grown up and wouldn't change or learn anything new. This confidence was quickly lost as the past three years were the years where I changed the most and also learnt a few very valuable life lessons which I wanted to share today:
1. Rely on yourself first.
I know I ramble on and on about self-love and putting yourself first above everyone else but it's the most important lesson I've learnt growing up. Whether it's boyfriends or friends, people come and go out of your life but as long as you rely on yourself and no one else, for the most part you'll be okay. I've had a few friendship breakup in my time, which are always worse than relationship breakups and sometimes it's hard to remember that you're just fine by yourself. I might write an entire post on this topic one day soon, as I often get messages from you guys about friendship breakups and how to deal with them, but for now, just know that as long as you're confident in yourself, you'll be okay. I've written a few posts on self-love (here) and why it's important to be alone (here) so make sure you give them a read!
2. Just breathe.
It's very easy to trick yourself into thinking everyone has it figured out. One day you'll find yourself halfway through college, trying to juggle a part time job, an eduction and a social life and you'll think 'how the hell do you do this?' To be honest, I think the real meaning of being an adult is learning how to freak out on the inside whilst still remaining calm on the outside. Just breathe and remind yourself that you can handle whatever life throws at you.
3. Remember to have fun.
Out of all of these tips, this one is the one I have to remind myself of most often. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in what you want to achieve and how long you have to do that, but life isn't all about achieving and working hard. You have to remember to have fun along the way too. There's often times where I have to force myself to put away my laptop or my phone, stop working, whether it's on Penneys To Prada, my actual job, or college, and just have fun. My favourite way to switch off and chill out is going to the cinema, because it's two hours where I just have to sit there and enjoy the film, with no phone or laptop!
Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this post and had a little laugh at five year old me!
