I am 26 years old! Wow that feels kind of crazy to say but not that crazy since my birthday was actually like two weeks ago and I’ve had some time to get used to it, haha. Obviously this post is a bit late (the wifi in Dominican Republic wasn’t that great) but I absolutely loved this shoot and figured I can’t not post for my birthday this year. Plus I figure sharing it on the very last day of February is better than nothing! (Since posting it in March, which isn’t even my birthday month, would be super weird). Okay, you get the picture. So today I want to talk a little bit about the amazing and transformative year that was 25, and share my hopes for 26. I had no idea 25 would be such a big year for me but I’m so glad for all of the #growth. Also going to link last year’s birthday post here in case you’re curious about it. Okay, let’s get into it.
*apologizing now for the sheer amount of photos in this post…I just loved them all!*
As I mentioned earlier, 25 was a big year for me. I went into detail about all the great and not-so-great things that went down last year in this post, so I’m not going to get into specifics here. Instead I want to share about the huge mindset shift that I had over the past year. Truthfully, I’ve never really understood when people would say things like “I learned so much about myself because of x” or “I’ve grown so much because of y”. I just always kind of felt the same throughout my life. Obviously I’ve aged and matured but I never really felt too different from year to year.
All that changed last year.
At 25, I started making smarter decisions.
At 25, I finally felt like an adult. I thought I felt like an adult when I was attending college in Miami, but I was so wrong. It took until last year for me to really notice the changes in myself and notice how my decision-making was changing. This might sound so lame but hear me out. Last year was the first time I allowed myself to buy actual nice rain boots and a nice winter coat. I didn’t ask my parents for the money to help me; I just decided that I needed these things for fall and winter and as an adult, I can buy them for myself. This was a big deal for me because before that, I’d been wearing the same cheap winter coat for multiple years, with a broken zipper and a ripped pocket. I didn’t even own a pair of rain boots so if it rained, I was totally out of luck. It’s embarrassing to admit but until 25, I just didn’t think to spend my money on practical things like that!
At 25, I started working on financial literacy.
Besides that example though, I also can tell that I’m becoming more mature and “growing up” because I’ve been working on becoming much more financially literate. I opened a savings account a few years ago and have actually been maintaining it. I’ve been working on consolidating all of my debt and paying it off, rather than just paying the minimum monthly payments and calling it a day. I’ve been investing in better quality pieces for myself and around our home because those things will last much longer than the crap I used to buy. I’ve been working on my credit score in preparation for a potential move this summer and it has since increased by 100 points, which feels incredible to say. It’s changes like these that make me proud of how far I’ve come and excited about where I’m going.
At 25, I started to really figure out (and accept) who I am as a person.
This is a big one. I’ve always known who I am, but for the longest time I always wanted to change things about myself. As a kid I wanted to change my name. Then in middle school and high school I wanted desperately to be popular. And some would say that I was; I was a varsity cheerleading captain, active in student activities and had a great group of friends, but I always wanted more. I always felt like I had to act a certain way to please people, or wear certain clothes to appeal to guys, or change how I spoke to fit in with another group of people; it was exhausting. I wasn’t letting who I was shine, and be enough.
That really changed at 25. I think it’s been a work in progress over many years, and I’m sure I still have a ton of work to do, but I feel more content with who I am than I ever have. I know what I like. I definitely know what I don’t like. And I’m getting better at advocating for those things. I am who I am, and while growth is always good, I’ve realized that there are some parts of me that just are what they are and I can’t (and don’t want to!) change that.
Wow this post was way longer than I planned for it to be. But seriously I feel so good going into 26 and I know that I will always look back on 25 fondly. I’m so happy and grateful that I have this space to share all of this and look back on one day. To wrap it all up, I’m really excited for what 26 has to offer and I hope that I continue to grow and realize even more about myself. I feel incredibly blessed to have the life that I’ve had so far and I’m always hopeful for the future. Thank you so much for reading this and if you can relate at all please leave a comment here or over on Instagram or Twitter! I’d love to hear from you.
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