Turning 25

It was my birthday today. Something about 25 makes it seem so silver-jubilee-like. As a child I imagined I would be married by this age, super successful, and basically living the dream. I wanted to be important and awesome and the thing is – that was just a dream.

At the same time, turning 25 is not really a big deal after all. When I turned 24, I realised it was a year away, and that 25 didn’t seem as awesome and monumental as it once did.

I won’t lie – twenty-five years of age is still pretty young. It took me a lot of reality checks of being around people in their thirties (most recently I have had that feeling at work) to make me realise that being twenty-five is not scary, nor is it monumental.

I’ve always told people that age is just a number. And now, when I feel a lot older than some of my friends, but so much younger than some of my coworkers, it really is. I posted a photo on Instagram with the following caption:

🎂🎈 25 today. Quarter of a century is usually a milestone, but in all honesty, age is just a number and is no barrier to any achievement. I have gained so much knowledge, experience and wisdom in the past year alone, and I am really thankful for that. ☁️ You can achieve your dreams no matter how young or old you feel, how old or young you think you are, or how short or long you have really lived. ✨ Always shoot for the stars.

And I really have achieved a lot. Lilian wrote on my birthday card that I had achieved so much in my life already, which is true. In the past year alone I’ve given five presentations; I’m working at a company I love working at; I’ve continued doing what I love with blogging and taking photos; I’ve improved my diet and exercise; I’m in a wonderful, loving relationship; and I’m not really showing signs of slowing down. To me it’s so important to aim high. We can be so hard on ourselves and not realise our potential, and sometimes it takes just a little push to get past our fears.

Yesterday evening my family, along with Nick and Lilian, went to a Japanese/Korean restaurant for dinner. It was yummy! I would totally go there again – their menu has a lot of options. I felt like raw fish so I just got a sashimi bowl. But I will definitely try something else next time. This evening I went to Nick’s house and we had dinner with his family. Also yummy.

I got a red suitcase from Nick’s parents for my birthday. I have never been so excited about a suitcase in my entire life. (I’ve had 25 whole years to get excited about one, so…) It’s this really nice shade of red and it’s one of those suitcases that can spin on its wheels and isn’t restricted to moving in one direction. Seriously, it’s amazing. I already started packing for Europe. 😆 Nick’s sister got me some stationery and a photo frame that holds a bunch of photos in a cool arrangement. And some EOS lip balm. I’m keen to try it because it’s all the rage, but isn’t available in stores in Australia. Heheh.

My mum got me a cute olive-green dress. Nick and Lilian got me some Pandora charms for my bracelet and I spent a while trying to figure out what order to put all my charms in. I love them all. Woooooo.

What is 25? I’ve got 365 days to figure it out, but so far, it’s good. 😜