Hello hello! In December (gosh that feels like years ago) I turned 23. It feels really weird to be 23, I kind of wanted to stay 21 forever, but as my Grandad always says, ageing is a good thing, it means you're healthy as you're growing old! I wanted to get this live on my actual birthday but just didn't have the time so today I wanted to do a nice little personal post about 23 things I've learnt to mark my 23rd birthday, albeit very late. I hope anyone can relate to these though.
1. The people who you grow up with wont necessarily be the people you grow old with - At school we're conditioned into believing that those people we grew up with are for life. I can honestly say I speak to about three people from school. People take different paths and that's totally okay. If you grow apart, it obviously wasn't meant to be.
2. Balance is key - in all aspects of life - Balance is key when it comes to food, work and play. Everything in moderation.
3. Sleep is necessary - I nap more now than I did when I was younger - When I was younger, it was cool to stay up as late as possible. Now? I have the best relationship with my bed and constantly want to be sleeping in it. I cherish my sleep now and nothing makes me happier than a good nights sleep.
4. It's cool to be fit - Working out is cool. Why wouldn't it be cool to do something that makes your mind and body feel great? I was the tomboy at school because I always did a lot of sports, I'm glad to see that so many women do sports now and it's totally normal.
5. Intelligence is sexy - In school, we'd call people geeks. When I got to University, I realised that geeks are really sexy. It's cool to be intelligent. I'd rather fall in love with someone intelligent than someone who looks like Jude Law and has no substance.
6. Everything happens for a reason - It's the most cliched phrase ever but it's true. You may not find the reason, but most things happen for a reason. When one door closes, another one opens.
7. Me time is so important - I used to get bored really easily as a child and think I needed to be doing something all the time. I'm so busy all the time now that it's made me realise how much I cherish an hour scrolling through Pinterest, an hour doing absolutely nothing or an actual real life bath with no interaction.
8. You become friends with people you least excepted - When I went to University I realised that school is pretty cliche, you stick with your group and don't really move away from those kinds of people. I met all sorts of people, from all walks of life, all with different stories at University.
9. Certain people will stop supporting you - They always say to be careful of who doesn't clap when you win, sadly I've found over the years that some 'best friends' and people I genuinely thought were almost family to me, cannot be happy for my achievements. It's really sad when people can't just say 'well done' to someone or even give something a like on social media. Life is not defined by likes or by other people saying 'well done' but it's nice for hard work to be acknowledged by the people around you.
10. You take one path or the other - We take different paths which is completely okay. Take me for example, I graduated from University and blog full time with no plans of having a family for at least ten years but I can name at least ten people from my year at school who are engaged with children. It's absolutely okay to do whatever works for you. We all go down different paths.
11. Elderly people have so much knowledge - I literally sit and take in everything my grandparents say - As I've got older I've realised just how much knowledge my grandparents have. Talk to them, ask them questions and I promise you'll learn something.
12. Cherish every moment you have with your loved ones - You don't know what's around the corner so make sure you cherish those in your life whilst you still can.
13. Things have a funny way of working themselves out - Just like the everything happens for a reason thing, things really do have a funny way of working themselves out. I always say, if it's not okay then it's not the end. Sometimes you have to ask yourself: Am I going to care about this in a years time? Usually the answer is no.
14. Mistakes make us who we are - I used to feel like a failure if I did something wrong but actually, mistakes make us grow, teach us things and make us who we are. How would we ever learn without them?
15. Your one true love may come from nowhere - A lot of people around me are in relationships and a lot of people aren't - it doesn't really matter. What matters is waiting for the right person. The way I look at life now? If I can't see myself being with that person for the rest of my life then what's the point in wasting my time, energy and efforts on them.
16. Your needs and wants will change - If you asked me what I wanted for Christmas a few years ago I'd have told you I wanted everything, nowadays, I'd rather my family were fit and healthy and spend time with them. Material possessions no longer matter to me as much as they once did. Don't get me wrong, I'm obsessed with Gucci but I'd choose my family over possessions any day.
17. Do something that scares you - The best thing I ever did was moving to the other side of the world by myself, even though everything at home was absolutely fine. I never in my life imagined I'd do something like that but it definitely made me who I am today.
18. You'll realise who is best to surround yourself with - I realised recently (and trust me, it's taken me years) that I'd rather have zero friends than unsupportive, not so nice ones. I'd rather have a handful of genuine, nice friends who are likeminded. I'm working on surrounding myself with the people who help me grow in a positive way.
19. It's better to have zero friends than unsupportive ones - As above. It really is.
20. Little things mean the most - I'm all about the little, thoughtful things. Of course, a trip to Paris would be amazing, but if someone turned up at my door with some flowers from the supermarket, that would mean everything to me. It's the little things that matter.
21. Your smile could make someones day - I went for breakfast at a local cafe and an old man was sat there reading his paper from a local old peoples home. I smiled at him and didn't think anything of it, he then came over to me at the end and said I'd made his day. You don't know what someones going through and you don't know their story, so smile - it could mean everything to them. I do the same with homeless people, I always make sure I say hello and smile. These people are human.
22. Never judge someone by the chapter you walked in by - We grow up every single day, so don't judge someone by who you knew a year ago, or even 6 months ago.
23. People can get really stressed about money - As I've got older I've learnt that money can cause so many tensions. Whether that's discussing earnings, paying for dinner, splitting the bill or paying for bills. Money talks and I've seen so many arguments between people over the last few years over money. When Matt and I went to Hong Kong we spent well over our budget but we looked at each other and said: we're not going to miss this money in a few months time, let's just enjoy it and stay in for the rest of the month. It worked. We were fine. I think when people get older, they start to stress, they need to save for houses, cars and mortgages, they feel like they've not got their lives together but hey, who really has got their life together? I totally get it but everyone has flaws and if you asked them, I bet they'd say their life wasn't perfect too!
I hope you liked this post!
Do you have any life lessons like this? Have you learnt anything recently?
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Lots of love, Em x
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