Today marks my last week of being twenty-five. While I'm always excited for my birthday to come up as it marks a fresh start, a time to celebrate with family and friends, and an excuse to drink and eat ALL the bad things, I feel a little bittersweet about turning twenty-six on Sunday.

I think the main reason for this is that I'm a little scared that this means I'm getting closer and closer to thirty. Thirty just sounds like an age where you have your s**t together -- sometimes I feel like I'm still a child and can't "adult" most days. I think back to when I was in high school and when I pictured myself at twenty-six, I thought I'd have it ALL figured out by now. Made it in my career, a husband and maybe a baby by now (LOL...the thought of kids is straight up frightening to me to be honest). 

Despite however delusional my high school fantasies of my current adult self were, I am definitely happy with where I am today. This year was huge for me as I transformed a lot (and not just in the cliche way people say, a lot of stuff happened this year!) I learned a lot about myself, how to handle difficult situations, and grew some confidence to not only become more comfortable in my own skin but to stand up for myself and not feel guilt about it.

(con't. below)

A year ago today I can truly say I felt like a different person. I was in a relationship I was unhappy in, I wasn't satisfied in my day-to-day as I knew I wanted to pursue this blog but didn't have the guts to get the wheels turning on it yet, and I was just really shy to do anything about it!

I think things hit a wall for me when I came to terms with all of these things and stopped being in denial. As corny as it sounds, if you're not pleased with your life you and only you have the power to change it. You can't depend on anyone to fix it or for things to magically come your way. 

Final thoughts on twenty-five: cutting toxic people out of your life is crucial for mental health and happiness, putting yourself as a priority isn't a bad thing, hard work doesn't seem like work when you love what you're doing, and confidence develops once you stop caring so much what everyone is going to think or if you're going to upset someone.

I may not have my whole life together by twenty-six, but I'm definitely happy I've picked up some knowledge about myself and life in general I didn't have a year ago. Going into twenty-six, I'm definitely looking forward to continue building my blog, spending quality time with my family, making great new memories with my best friends, and taking in any new experiences that come my way.

Cheers to 26!

XO,

Jasmin