today is my half birthday!!! hey hey!
t-w-e-n-t-y n-i-n-e and a h-a-l-f !
and okay. i’m kinda not so much one to even think about my half birthday… but this time? welllll, this time it’s setting off all sorts of alarms!
this time, my half birthday begins the last. 6 months. of my twenties!
whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!!!
now, i’m not saying thirty is old. i just…. never… really… pictured myself being 30. however! i realize that each year – each day! of life on earth is a very precious gift, and i hope to live a very, very long and healthy and vibrant and fulfilling one. so, that’s the bottom line, right there! i’m still not okay with the number, but heck, i’ve been shedding tears over my upping numerals since 22. dramatic, maybe? suuuure sure sure sure! guess i just like to keep the feels a-rollin!’
BUT NOW! i’ve been doing some thinking! so, i’m gonna go ahead and give it a whirl here…
20 things i’ve learned in my twenties!! well, so far. still got 6 more months, remember!!
1. your early twenties are just as hard as your early teens! why doesn’t anyone warn you?! there is soooo much figuring out! who is your adult self? do you have to have an adult self? what are you supposed to do in life? make money? buy a house? find somebody? how? and if you get married young, like yours truly, you do all that alongside another person doing all that. i can’t say we did it gracefully, but! it is what it is!
2. friends may come and go and it’s okay. this was such a hard one for me to swallow! i spent way too much time when i was younger missing friends that had grown distant because i’m a really attachy sentimental person. [unless you screw me over, then say hi to the great wall of brittany!] but then! new friends came along! some people stay for life. some people come and go in seasons. some people you might not talk to often, but you always know they’re there. and it’s okay.
3. don’t take life too seriously. really! don’t. i mean, okay, it’s a fine balance, i know. some things you should totally take seriously. kindness. decorum. safety. so, while it’s how you play the game that counts, keep in mind, too, that you win some, you lose some, and in the end… everyone is human.
4. forgiveness isn’t so much for the sake of the other person. it’s to help your own heart heal! i read that somewhere at one point and lightbulbs went off. maybe i just understood it in a new light, the way that it hit me. but gosh. it’s true! so often it’s your own heart that needs to change for you to grow and move forward! you can’t worry about someone else, they’re on their own journey.
5. don’t spend too much time dwelling on your own little unfulfillments. it’s too exhausting, isn’t it? my life honestly is so much better [not easier! but better.] now that i spend so much time thinking of what my family wants and needs more than my own silly little deficits. that brings fulfillment. and exhaustion! but i have this little notion that if you’re exhausted at the end of the day, you’re doing something right. 🙂
6. vitamin D is good. tanning beds are idiotic. at one point in college, i hit the tanning beds way too hard. SO dumb. however, actual sunshine is good for you, body and soul! i’m not saying cook in it all day, but i am saying maybe think twice about slathering on crazy chemicals and then baking it into your skin. from what i’ve read, getting 15 minutes a day of direct sunshine is best!
7. adopt a pet before having babies! obviously, this isn’t mandatory, but having fur babies definitely prepared us! i can’t imagine going from zero responsibility to full on parenthood. and there are lots of animals out there that really need good, loving homes!!
8. travel before having babies! in our five pre-baby years, we hardly did this, to be honest. we never really prioritized it budget-wise or time-wise, and honestly, i’m not upset about that at all. but thank goodness we at least made it to italy!! [aaaahh, the old country…] what i really, ultimately want is to travel more as a family. i want our kids to go places and be exposed and feel confident and flexible with that. however, it’s a little crazier and a bit more money once you start adding small people in. so. we’ll get there, i hope!
9. don’t let the fear of failure hold you back. i’m terrified of failure. and it does hold me back. still! learn from my lesson?
10. it’s not someone else’s job to make you happy. it’s up to you to find what feeds your soul, to savor the smallest gifts in your life, to pray your way through things! remember, God wants you to have joy. he can give you what you need.
11. quality over quantity. in friends. in clothes. in life! invest in less.
12. when you’re a mom, you need mom friends! there’s just nothing that absorbs you and puts you through the ringer and makes you happier or more fulfilled or more focused or concerned or in love than motherhood! and it’s all SO much better when you have someone to relate to!
13. live beneath your means. put away money for savings! we were both raised with good money advice, and i am sooo thankful! if you’re careful with the money you have, you never have to full-on panic when unforeseen expenditures arise. [and they will!]
14. there is a reason for everything. and most of those reasons we likely won’t even know until we get to heaven. that’s where trust comes in! understand that and move right along! or sit and ponder. pondering’s good.
15. always write things down. random thoughts. ideas. to-dos. dreams. late night ideas. little notes!
16. comparison is the thief of joy. okay, comparison for information gathering purposes is one thing, and that i’m a fan of… but really, you can see one thing on the outside, but you don’t know what someone else’s needs, goals, priorities, flaws, or insecurities are. or if they’re even making the best decisions! run your own show and feel good about it.
17. on that note: be a black sheep! be one proudly! nobody ever rose to the top by following the crowd. nobody became the best by doing what everyone else said was “normal.” be an independent thinker. do your own research. trust your own gut. march to the beat of your own drum. YOU DO YOU! i desperately want this for my children, even if it takes them half a lifetime to appreciate it.
18. print your photos regularly and keep up with organizing them. i have fallen behind in mine and now i’m so overwhelmed! but i think it’s important. 🙂
19. coconut oil. 🙂
20. rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances. 1 thessalonians 5:16-18
This is just simply lovely, Brittany. And very wise for one still in her 20s!!
Love all of these! I'm going to be ehgm, 34, this year and am freaking out, but lessons learned are so worth the increasing numbers on the birthday scale! Happy half birthday!
If only a list like this could find its way back in time a bit? It's so wonderful and true and I mean. Preach! Excellent words to live by. From one to twenty.
Oh. And half welcome to your thirties! The other half welcome in six months of course. 😉
You are wise beyond your years my friend!
Happy half birthday! This is wonderful advice 🙂 🙂 🙂
Beautifully said my love!!!