24 Things I Learned In My 24th Year
Black bitter coffee, stable night routines, quarantine, a surplus of body washes you don’t actually need, booking your own doctors appointments, applying for graduation, getting into the swing of a 9-5, feeling like you’re behind in life, online shopping, beige acrylics, oat milk, a new wardrobe, rational thinking, sage, birthday dresses, pizza pockets, photoshoots using self-timer, Spotify playlists for every season, aquaphor, lashes, 2 hour walks, Microsoft teams, Friends theme song, gold jewellery, clean skin care, warm lighting.
All of these things are a signification of my 24th year. The 24-year old during a pandemic aesthetic is coming to an end, because I turn 25 next month. Before turning 24, I started a tradition where I wrote down the 23 things I learned at 23.
Currently being one month away from turning 25, I took the time to write down the 24 things I learned at 24. It is a summed up list of realizations, reflections, and potential life lessons that I learned throughout my 24th year. Grab some coffee and a blanket and enjoy!
1. Nothing is too good for you. When good things come your way, please accept them without thinking that it’s “too special”, “too amazing”, or “too good” for you.
2. Being able to fall asleep before midnight is a privilege.
3. A purposeless trip to Chapters with your mom holds the ability to make things feel okay again, even if it’s just for a little while.
4. Nobody is thinking about you. And I mean this in the nicest way possible. Everyone is honestly too busy thinking and worrying about themselves to care enough about you and your actions. So relax.
5. The small wins matter. Folding your laundry and putting it away the same day you took it out of the dryer, finding a new TV series to watch and enjoy, baking oatmeal chocolate chip bars that you can eat for breakfast for the week. Acknowledge these small wins more.
6. The first thing you choose to do when you wake up matters. Filter out all actions and patterns that hold the ability to ruin your day before it even begins.
7. If you weren’t ready for it, you wouldn’t have the opportunity. Remember that for the next time something good comes your way.
8. People’s personal actions are a direct reflection of themselves and likely have absolutely nothing to do with you. So stop taking everything so personally.
9. You might find your current life and routine to be repetitive and boring right now, but in a few years you will miss it and its familiarity and comfort. You’ll miss waking up in your current bedroom, drinking coffee on your living room floor every morning, scrolling through Pinterest on your family iPad. So start to enjoy and appreciate these things before they become a memory.
10. Do something special for yourself on your birthday, even if you don’t feel like it. Your future self will be really glad you did. Order a special customized cake, get yourself a pretty birthday dress, take cute af pictures, make birthday TikToks. Celebrate yourself because you owe yourself at least that much.
11. Don’t wait until the last night to write your final paper for your degree. Just start earlier.
12. Write down all things that you want/need to get done in your notes app and physically check it off when complete. The satisfaction that comes with successfully completing a task, no matter how small, is unmeasured. Short/long-term goals, life events, daily activities.
13. Pictures and selfies are not an accurate representation or measure of you. No amount of editing or filters can compare to the in-person version of you. Please don’t forget that.
14. Use Pinterest to visualize and create the parts of your life that you want to reach. Looking back, you’ll be amazed at how many of those things actually ended up happening.
15. Your TikTok drafts serve as a time capsule of raw, unfiltered memories of you. Keep making them.
16. Self-care can count as anything that makes you feel good. Painting a birdhouse, ordering stuff on amazon, a face mask, vlogging, ordering an apple fritter and iced capp from Tim Hortons, a run through the woods, spending the night at your sisters house—these all fall under the category of self-care.
17. Rearrange the furniture in your room every few months. It makes a difference.
18. The way your life feels is a lot more important than the way it looks. Choose comfort and peace above everything.
19. Find a daily face wash that works really well for you. Your skin will thank you.
20. Update your resume frequently with relevant and current accomplishments and successes. It will come in handy.
21. You can’t ruin or miss out on something that is meant for you. That’s not how it works. So chill.
22. A run on the field of your neighbourhood park with “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo blasting through your airpods can bring your mood and self-confidence from a 0 to 100 real quick.
23. Fall in love with yourself first.
24. If you choose to wait until you feel “ready”, you might be waiting your whole life.
Bonus:
25. You have your own timeline. It will not align with anyone else’s, and it shouldn’t have to.
26. Things don’t have to be perfect for them to be worth doing. Selfies, events, outfits. You simply liking it or having fun doing it should be reason enough.