Last month I saw Megan Ellaby celebrate her 27th by creating
this post, 27 facts about herself. It gave me the idea to create my own list of 27 things I have learnt over the course of my life, BUT I definitely couldn't think of 27 things, so I settled for 17. Most of these I've only come to terms with in the recent past so in 10 years time I may have learnt enough to create a list of 27 things for my 37th.
1. Female empowerment is cool.
I'll stand by and support my fellow female, so often we're pitted against each other. Why buy into that when you can push against it?!
2. Cooking isn't so bad.
Until recently I hated spending time in the kitchen. I'm still not in love with the idea but as long as I have my own background noise I'm happy to spend the time cooking a heartfelt, warm, home cooked dinner. Hey it's pretty fun stepping outside of your comfort zone in the kitchen and sometimes the aroma from your dinner leaves the house feeling more homely.
3. My mum isn't as anal about keeping a tidy house as I thought.
Keeping a clean and tidy house comes naturally once you have your own space, it's something you do because you're proud. My current house in particular is one I get super nit picky about, for me it has become an expression of who I (and my partner) am. I don't want anyone thinking I'm a slob so why would I live like one?
4. Kill 'em with kindness.
Don't waste your energy arguing with people or being rude back to rude people, 99% of the time you aren't going to achieve anything other than bringing yourself down, making yourself tired. I've found staying calm and kind in these situations is a more effective method of getting my point across or making the other person realise there was no need to be rude, all while keeping my own spirits high.
5. I HAVE to work.
This one sounds obvious right? Well I used to sit at my old job and say I could easily not work. Not only is that untrue for the sake of my financial security but now that I work a job I actually enjoy I couldn't imagine living without work.
6. I'm not as much of an introvert and hermit as I thought.
I think this comes along with the point above, because of my job I've learnt I'm not an introvert. I like conversing with different people every day, I love to shit talk. As much as I do recharge from having time alone, as much as I am good at being alone, I take almost as much satisfaction from being around people.
7. Making and keeping adult friends is hard and that is okay.
And that is okay, we don't need large groups of people at this age. What matters is that we haver smaller groups of friends who we know we can rely on in times of need.
8. Being skinny isn't everything.
This is definitely a more recently realisation of mine. Over the years I've tried to hold onto my size 6 form from when I was a teen, only recently have I come to terms with the fact I haven't been that size for years now. I'm finally grabbing my correct size when shopping which is bigger and that is okay. I'm wider than I was as a teen and that is okay. I hold more fat than I did as a teen and that is okay. It is all okay because I'm eating bigger portions, I'm eating better, I'm healthy, I'm happy.
9. Have fun.
We all know someone who takes or has taken life far too seriously, for me, I am that person. I sound miserable when saying this but I would judge the person who was singing badly in public, wearing something I didn't deem appropriate, dancing in a space that wasn't their own home or dance studio ect. now I am striving to be that person. As long as you are happy, comfortable with what you're doing and most importantly you are having fun, don't care what anyone else thinks, their opinion probably wouldn't mean a lot to you anyway.
10. Adult breakouts do effect me.
As a teen I had the clearest, most beautiful skin you could imagine. Only as an adult did it start to become troublesome and as much as I will tell you that I'm happy I started getting breakouts now for many reasons I have to be honest and tell you that the cluster of pimples that always seems to be on my chin, the strays on my forehead or cheekbones, yep, they do bother me.
11. If you want it, if you can afford it, just get it.
Honestly! Do yourself the favour, save yourself the regret and just get it. I'll give you a more recent example of when I didn't get something and I'm kicking myself for it now... Imagine this; TK Maxx, Steve Madden Croc Print Shoulder Handbag, ask partners opinion even though I really want it, he doesn't like it so I decide to put it back, can't stop thinking about it, he goes to get it for me, it's gone. I'm so angry about this now that I didn't get this bag that I now cannot stop thinking about. IF YOU WANT SOMETHING AND CAN AFFORD IT, JUST GET IT!
12. Saving is cool.
Hi I'm a Leo sun and Taurus moon, this creates the mega shopper. Seriously. I have this super bad habit of knowing I have money to spare and deciding that I need everything I see. I've had to stop myself, the amount of times I've been caught out and had to run to family for help when it comes to money is not cool for someone in their mid-twenties (argh, Millennials). I now try to take the approach of forgetting I have money and only buying things I actually like and know I'll get use out of. Note: I say this while sitting on ASOS where I'm meant to be looking for a replacement of the Steve Madden bag previously mentioned but I'm also flicking through the dresses, shoes, jeans and accessories.
13. You can say no.
I'm someone who would ordinarily just say yes to things even if I didn't want to do them out of fear of hurting someone, not anymore bitches. NO!
14. The truth is always better.
No matter how good you think you are at lying, it's always better to tell the truth. You will always get in more trouble for lying than you would have if you just owned up.
15. My career is everything.
Ask my boyfriend and he will tell you how annoying is it that I fail to plan so many things but when it comes to work I have it all planned out. The one phone call I never fail to answer is when work is calling, I will never call in sick unless I am dying, I will always go in when you need me. I care very deeply about what I do. Not only that but I used to question people who lived so far away from home that they would drive an hour for work each day, now I am one of those people and I do so happily. I need to learn to say "I'd never do" when it comes to work because everything I've said that about so far I am/will be doing.
16. Not having a style is okay.
Don't have a particular taste in music? Cool. Don't have one particular way you dress? Yas! My younger self would have hated not fitting into one box, if I had music that didn't fit into what I wanted to be at the period of time I'd get super embarrassed about it. Any clothing that didn't fit into the mould I wanted to fit into would go straight to the op shop and I think this is one of my biggest regrets, the amount of clothes I think back on that I wish I still had but I thought I had to be one certain way...
17. Social media isn't all it.
A Millennial saying that, oh gosh horror! Really though, I find the more time I'm off of social media sites the happier I actually am. I follow a lot of accounts on Instagram but they are people I'm happy to follow, even then I mainly find myself watching InstaStories over the scrolling these days.
