25 Things I Learnt Before Turning 25

25 things I learnt before turning 25:

I guess this blog is kind of a continuation from the Quarter Life Crisis post. Assessing where I am today, my life so far, my hopes, dreams and ambitions has really enabled me to focus on all of things that have been important so far, and continue to be important going forwards. I was inspired to write this post after googling ‘What to do for my 25 birthday’. I was kinda surprised to find posts about what people had achieved or learnt, so I decided to write my own.

1. Don’t rely on others when it comes to your hopes and dreams. Sometimes our expectations of other people are unrealistic, and therefore will only lead to disappointment.

2. Not everyone will like me, and I won’t like everyone. Take some time to figure out who is worth making the effort for.

3. Know your fear in order to conquer it: I worry that one day I’ll wake up and regret not doing this and that, so I’m on a mission to do everything in life that I want to

4. Money isn’t everything

5. Take photos of everything, you’ll only regret the ones you didn’t take.

6. Life is about the journey, not the destination. Sometimes we/I get so fixated on what’s a head, we forget to appreciate what we’ve got in front of us in this moment. So even though forward planning is important, so is living in the moment.

7. Do the things you want to do, not just what you think you should do, or what you think other people want you to do.

8. Trying to please everyone can leave you unhappy and spread too thinly.

9. Upon turning 25, I’ve come to realise that my life is not at all how I expected it to be, but, it’s still great! And when you look at the people around you, you’ll probably realise that their lives aren’t as they expected either. Life is unpredictable so just go with it.

10. People change over time, sometimes you grow apart and that’s okay. Whether it’s a friend or a significant other.

11. It’s okay to not know what you want.

12. Nothing lasts forever so make sure you make the most of every opportunity, situation and friendship.

13. Dream big, set yourself goals so you can keep achieving things after you finish school or university.

14. Be accountable / responsible for your actions.

15. Some things are best left unsaid. And some things should definitely be said. Life teaches you the difference between these situations.

16. Fad diets are precisely that. Take everything in moderation, exercise regularly, eat healthily and love life.

17. Don’t follow the crowd, blaze your own trail, be your own person!

18. It’s hard not caring about what other people say/think but really only the important people should matter.

19. It’s okay to be sad, it’s okay to make mistakes. Don’t let them define you.

20. You can’t change what’s already happened, but you can learn from it going forward.

21. You can’t truly be happy with someone else until you are happy with yourself.

22. Don’t make decisions when you’re angry or promises when you’re happy.

23. Life will keep throwing the same lesson at you until you learn it. I heard this a few years ago and it’s so true.

24. This is particularly important: your 20s are your selfish years! Old enough to make the right decisions, and young enough to make the wrong ones. So make the most of your 20s! (I saw this on Instagram.. It really hit the nail on the head).

25. I’m really lucky for so many different reasons, firstly the fact that I’ve made it to 25! And both in terms of the life I’ve lived so far, who my family are and where in the world I’m from, but also in terms of the opportunities I’ve taken, made for myself and the amazing people I’ve met along the way.