I was looking for lists - lists of things a girl should have learnt or done before hitting the critical age of 24 ( I'm not a girl, not yet a woman, right? :D) After looking for, like, 2 infernally long minutes ( God, give me patience!!!), I've decided to do what I (at least, once!) used to do best: write! So, here's a a list of things I learnt or mastered by now:
1. Accept yourself. Love yourself. It's not a clichee, really. I once accepted the challenge of having to pick 2 words that I would say to my younger self, if I could. The first thought was: Accept yourself. Had I known when I was a teenager that I would never become the awesome girl that I am today by trying to be someone else, it could have saved me a lot of trouble and wasted time. Be yourself and help yourself become the person you were meant to be. Don't worry if my words don't make sense now: it is the kind of wisdom that you acquire when you get in your mid-twenties :D
2. Your mid-twenties won't find you were you think they would. This might sound harsh and younger people will be tempted not to believe me, but whatever future plans you have, you can throw them in the trash, try to picture the least likely scenario ever, and you would still be surprised. SURPRISED. AMAZED. STARTLED. I went to one of the finest high schools and I was pretty sure I would be a lawyer in my own country by now. Life's beauty comes from its unpredictability, the sooner you embrace that, the faster you become more open to what's lying ahead of you.
3. You don't have to and you most likely won't have your shit together by now. Ten years ago, I would see people who were in their mid-twenties as fully grown adults who had their shit together and who already figured out the key to happiness and inner peace. I am 24 today and I realised that probably each one of us is nothing more than a wondering, restless, sorrowful soul who starts and ends their life in the pursuit of happiness, never really finding it.
1. Accept yourself. Love yourself. It's not a clichee, really. I once accepted the challenge of having to pick 2 words that I would say to my younger self, if I could. The first thought was: Accept yourself. Had I known when I was a teenager that I would never become the awesome girl that I am today by trying to be someone else, it could have saved me a lot of trouble and wasted time. Be yourself and help yourself become the person you were meant to be. Don't worry if my words don't make sense now: it is the kind of wisdom that you acquire when you get in your mid-twenties :D
2. Your mid-twenties won't find you were you think they would. This might sound harsh and younger people will be tempted not to believe me, but whatever future plans you have, you can throw them in the trash, try to picture the least likely scenario ever, and you would still be surprised. SURPRISED. AMAZED. STARTLED. I went to one of the finest high schools and I was pretty sure I would be a lawyer in my own country by now. Life's beauty comes from its unpredictability, the sooner you embrace that, the faster you become more open to what's lying ahead of you.
3. You don't have to and you most likely won't have your shit together by now. Ten years ago, I would see people who were in their mid-twenties as fully grown adults who had their shit together and who already figured out the key to happiness and inner peace. I am 24 today and I realised that probably each one of us is nothing more than a wondering, restless, sorrowful soul who starts and ends their life in the pursuit of happiness, never really finding it.
4. Quality time with your family is the best. Remember the time when you were in high school and you wanted to go out all night long, but your mum used to be so un-cool that she forced you to stay inside and study for your tests? How unfair was that, right?! You would hide inside your room, play the music out loud, dream of a time when you will be on your own and no one will have the right to tell you what you can or cannot do. Now you're an adult and you're on your own, but don't you miss your mother even more when, after partying hard one night, you have to go to work with the worst headache ever? Don't you kind of wish she was here to stop you from - you know - ruining yourself, like the ADULT you are?!
5. Forgiveness is all about yourself, it has little to do with other people. You know me, I didn't have the most awesome relationship with my dad. Of course, it shouldn't come as a surprise, most of Dads from Eastern Europe seem to be kind of huge bastards. Mine had his own unique set of torture, but lately it stroke me that if I were to wait for him to ask for forgiveness or even realize that he did something wrong, I would grow up being a scared, insecure woman and I don't want that. I want to leave the scared, insecure girl behind me and end up being a beautiful, strong young woman, I want to be able to stand tall, no matter what lies ahead of me. The very first person who benefits from forgiveness is the person who forgives and, even though it's a difficult task to do, you should totally go for it. Forgive your Dad. Forgive your ex. Forgive yourself.
6. You should be financially independent by now. Of course, no pressure, but I know so many people who still live off their parents' money, without doing much with their lives, which is really just pathetic. Our generation is so much different than the one before us, which is really a good thing: my mum had a 1 year old Georgiana when she was my age now, I really don't think she had so much time for herself as I do now. Nevertheless, everything costs money and, unless you are a genius studying really hard, you should be able to, at least partially, pay your bills.
7. Sometimes it's good to let others spoil you. What drove me to leave Romania when I turned 20 was the very dream of being financially independent, which is kind of weird, since I could have finished college back home, without having to work a single day in my life. I love my independence, I can't stress well enough how much I love being independent. I am a free spirit. Then, I spent the next three years trying to convince my mother to accept some money for the things I spent, every time I went home. It was a struggle, until this year when we went to the sea side and I kind of realized that it's perfectly fine to let the people who love me take care of me every once in a while. Relax. Lay back. If your mama doesn't want you to spend any money while you're at home, it's perfectly fine, after all, you're still her baby girl.
8. Love doesn't have to be in a rush. Remember those nights when you were 17 and a guy would take you on a first date? You would drink a soda, walk for a while and then start making out as if the world would end the very next day. If I could give a piece of advice to younger girls, I would tell them not to rush. There is no rush, really. Take your time, walk slowly together, walk until your legs hurt. Talk, talk a lot, then hold his hand for a while and enjoy the silence. Gasp in the clean air. Feel the emotions. Don't spoil the simple things by kissing until your lips hurt, isn't there plenty of time for that?
9. Eat good food. You are 24 now, right, and I know I just told you no one expects you to have your shit together by this age, but you should at least know the foods that are good or bad for you, as a human being and also as an individual. I figured out that beef and pork are really not good for my stomach when I was 16 and I've been trying to avoid them ever since. ( Except when it's Christmas and my mum makes sarmale :D) You should know by now that food is not just something you put in your stomach when you're hungry, food is nutrition, food is life. So, sure, enjoy the good taste, be playful with your meals, but don't forget there are certain things you need to consider. It sure feels like it now, but your body won't be an engine forever and soon you will get a clogged arthery and, even sooner, you will get fat as a pig.
10. Be physical active. Whether you choose to run like a maniac or you just go shopping, I don't care much, just get your ass off the couch, you will see, the benefits are tremendous, and, as far as I am concerned, the main one is my mental health.
11. Sleep is important. So, what are you doing writing on your blog at 4 a.m., you silly Birthday girl?! :D
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