TWENTY-ONE LIFE LESSONS AT 21!

Today’s the day - the big 2 1 ! It feels very strange to be experiencing my birthday in a different continent to my family and friends. I will be spending my day on an aeroplane and then in Singapore. It will be my first time in Asia so I am pretty excited about that - I will definitely be updating the blog with all the details.

Usually, birthdays make me nervous - our introspective and reflective selves come out, and my inner critic often dampens my day. Another year older and what have we learnt? What have we achieved? Well, I have come up a list of 21 of life lessons I’ve learnt so far. All of these have been either discovered or learnt the hard way by me in my first 21 years. I hope I put them into practice for the next 21.

1. If people can’t make time for you, they probably never will. How busy are you that you can’t carve 30 minutes for a drink out of your schedule? Yeah, didn’t think so.

2. Kindles aren’t as bad as I thought. As a long time Kindle sceptic, I was always ready to criticise the fact that people needed to read on a screen. But then I tried one out and they’re so convenient and so much lighter than the thousands of books you can save on one. Paper books will still be my favourite, but I wish I’d tried a Kindle sooner.

3. Comparison will kill you. Other people’s goals don’t define your own by comparison, just give me another 21 years to learn how to stop comparing.

4. Singing in the car feels better with the windows down. Particularly if the volume’s on high.

5. Fresh flowers and plants in my room make me happier. Flowers might seem like an unnecessary expense, but daffodils and carnations are always cheap, and they make you feel so cheerful. And keeping plants alive is a fun thing to do (and a bit of a challenge for me...)

6. It’s okay if you need to cut toxic people from your life - even if they’re family. Learnt this one the hard way - don’t feel guilty for prioritising yourself.

7. Fake tan makes you look healthy. While it often gets a bad reputation, light fake tan will stop you looking like the undead.

8. A walk in the park can do wonders. As hard as it may be to get outside, finding your favourite park and making it a safe haven could save you.

9. You don’t have to like what other people like. Peer pressure, wanting to fit in and bullies aren’t very good reasons to change yourself into someone you’re not.

10. Lingonberry jam goes with every meal. Oh, Ikea, you’ve done it again.

11. Visit home often. Moving out is not an endurance test; I made that mistake for too long at University. A weekend at home might help provide some perspective.

12. Print your photos. What are you going to do with 17,000 photos on your iCloud, wouldn’t you want to see your loved ones on your walls?

13. Ask, if you don’t understand. It doesn’t make you foolish, it’s the only way you’re going to learn more. Besides, you’ll likely never see the person again if it’s in public.

14. Sending letters and postcards will make you both happy. I stand by the fact that everybody loves receiving post - my Grandma sends me something at least once a fortnight and it’s lovely to have something other than bank statements and junk in the mail. Pen to paper is a dying art.

15. Back up your computer. It’s just common sense, but we put it off. I don’t want to learn the hard way.

16. Treasure your summer holidays. Thinking about 25 days annual leave makes me so sad - so let’s not.

17. Think before you speak when you’re drunk. The amount of things I regret saying is scary, and what you think is funny in the moment probably isn't.

18. Social media is a highlight reel. People lead fake lives on Instagram, because who would post about being rejected or having a rough day, ugly photos of themselves or being homesick?

19. Leave early if you want to catch the train on time. I am notorious for missing trains and buses - it happens far too often, and several times I’ve been stood on the platform and still missed it (a rare accomplishment) - leaving early gives you a fighting chance.

20. Long distance is possible. Meeting my boyfriend at Uni means that for most of the year we live in different counties, and for a lot of this year, we’ve been in different countries. Be willing to put the effort in and know it won’t be like this forever.

21. Being near water is calming. Lakes, rivers, ponds, the ocean, waterfalls and streams bring so much peace.

I'd like to think I will remember these lessons I have learnt over my 21 years as I move into my early twenties (!!!), but I guess time will tell.