25 Things To Do Before You Turn 25.

One of the blogs I read without fail is by a fearless Brooklynite named Meg Fee. Her story is truly inspiring, her words are some of the most beautiful I’ve read, and her pictures are pristine. If you’re in to reading blogs I highly suggest hers. You’ll instantly find yourself wanting to be her friend.

Today she posted a particular blog that I felt very moved to repost. It’s a list of things to do before one turns 25. <Where was said list a year ago??> Even though I’ve been 25 for almost a year now I didn’t think it was too late to assess this list and see where I stood. Some things really grabbed me while others were inspiring. I mean, there’s obviously nothing that says I can’t do some of those things when I’m 26, 27, or even 28!

So here is it. I encourage you to assess yourself on it too. Regardless of age. It’s never to late to do some things that you’ve always been afraid of or you never thought you could do. Life’s too short!

25 Things To Do Before You Turn 25

1. Make peace with your parents. Whether you finally recognize that they actually have your best interests in mind or you forgive them for being flawed human beings, you can’t happily enter adulthood with that familial brand of resentment.
2. Kiss someone you think is out of your league; kiss models and med students and entrepreneurs with part-time lives in Dubai and don’t worry about if they’re going to call you afterward.
3. Minimize your passivity.
4. Work a service job to gain some understanding of how tipping works, how to keep your cool around assholes, how a few kind words can change someone’s day.
5. Recognize freedom as a 5:30 a.m. trip to the diner with a bunch of strangers you’ve just met.
6. Try not to beat yourself up over having obtained a ‘useless’ Bachelor’s Degree. Debt is hell, and 
things didn’t pan out quite like you expected, but you did get to go to college, and having by Text-Enhance”>a degree isn’t the worst thing in the world to have. We will figure this mess out, I think, probably; the point is you’re not worth less just because there hasn’t been an immediate pay off for going to school. Be patient, work with what you have, and remember that a lot of us are in this together.
7. If you’re employed in any capacity, by Text-Enhance”>open a savings account. You never know when you might be unemployed or in desperate need of getting away for a few days. Even $10 a week is $520 more a year than you would’ve had otherwise.
8. Make a habit of going outside, enjoying the light, relearning your friends, forgetting the internet.
9. Go on a 4-day, brunch-fueled bender.
10. Start a relationship with your crush by telling them that you want them. Directly. Like, look them in the face and say it to them. Say, I want you. I want to be with you.
11. Learn to say ‘no’ — to yourself. Don’t keep wearing high heels if you hate them; don’t keep smoking if you’re disgusted by the way you smell the morning after; stop wasting entire days on your couch if you’re going to complain about missing the sun.
12. Take time to revisit the places that made you who you are: the apartment you grew up in, your middle school, your hometown. These places may or may not be here forever; you definitely won’t be.
13. Find a hobby that makes being alone feel lovely and empowering and like something to look forward to.
14. Think you know yourself until you meet someone better than you.
15. Forget who you are, what your priorities are, and how a person should be.
16. Identify your fears and instead of letting them dictate your every move, find and talk to people who have overcome them. Don’t settle for experiencing .000002% of what the world has to offer because you’re afraid of getting on a plane.
17. Make a habit of cleaning up and letting go. Just because it fit at one point doesn’t mean you need to keep it forever — whether ‘it’ is your favorite pair of pants or your ex.
18. Stop hating yourself.
19. Go out and watch that movie, read that book, listen to that band you already lied about watching, reading, listening to.
20. Take advantage of by Text-Enhance”>health insurance while you have it.
21. Make a habit of telling people how you feel, whether it means writing a gushing fan-girl email to someone whose work you love or telling your boss why you deserve a raise.
22. Date someone who says, “I love you” first.
23. Leave the country under the premise of “finding yourself.” This will be unsuccessful. Places do not change people. Instead, do a lot of solo drinking, read a lot of books, have sex in dirty hostels, and come home when you start to miss it.
24. Suck it up and buy a Macbook Pro.

25. Quit that job that’s making you miserable, end the relationship that makes you act like a lunatic, lose the friend whose sole purpose in life is making you feel like you’re perpetually on the verge of vomiting. You’re young, you’re resilient, there are other jobs and relationships and friends if you’re patient and open

…have a response to anything in particular? I know #6 rang many bells for me. 

HERE is where you can see the list for yourself if you like. 

and HERE is Meg’s blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Thank you for sharing this Meg.

25

It happened. A few weeks ago by now, but it happened. I turned 25. A quarter of a century.

HOLY CRAP I’M OLD!!!
Ok, so I’m not that old. But when you’re growing up, 25 feels like such a far away age. Like it will take you forever to get there. But here it is, 2012 and I’m 25. The more I type it, the more it sinks in.

I spent my weekend in the best possible way…with my family and friends and at the theatre too. Nothing extravagant or over the top. It was perfect. I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m a bit of a birthday Scrooge. I almost become shy and embarrassed when people wish me a happy birthday or get me gifts. (Although my dad did get me a really gorgeous diamond necklace that I wasn’t too embarrassed to receive. I was in shock and awe!) I’m not entirely sure what that’s about though. I’m not a shy person, nor do I often avoid being the center of attention(yup, I said it) but there’s something about Birthday attention that makes me withdrawn. I think it may have to do with my past birthdays. Looking back at turning 24 all I can think about is how the person I chose to spend my day with, is no longer in my life. And unfortunately there are many other birthdays that I can say the same thing about. Now I’m sure it’s a good thing that those people are no longer in my life, but it still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I think it makes me afraid or skeptical to enjoy the day with other people, even the people who I know aren’t going anywhere. So yeah…simple was best.

Another thing about being 25. It seems like every year someone asks me “so how does it feel now that you’re (insert new age)”? Every year my answer is, “same as before” because it does. There’s never been some changeful feeling on the day or after my birthday. It just comes and goes. But this year. This year was different. I felt it the day before my birthday actually. Like a nudge. A nudge telling me to turn around and look where I’ve been. Who I’ve been. And not just then but in reference to who and where I am now. To recognize the difference between the two. So I did. And you know what happened? I felt different. I felt 25. Not like the 10 year old girl just learning how to sew from her grandma, or the 15 year old girl dealing with the aftermath of a house fire and her parents divorcing, or the 18 year old girl packing up and moving to Florida for college, or the 21 year old leaving the country for the first time to go to Egypt, or even the 24 year old realizing that she needed to change the way she went about some things in her life. No. Now I feel like the 25 year old girl who has gone through all those things and more and learned so much along the way. The girl who, having learned from those things, feels more ready than ever to continue on in this life journey and see what else there is. It’s cloudy and exciting all at once.

So here’s to my 25th year. I anticipate some big changes and hopefully even more love and laughter than my previous years. Cheers.