The Best Things About Being In Your Late 20's

A couple of years ago if you told me that I would be sitting down to write an entire blog post about why I love being in the latter half of my twenties I would have laughed and called you a liar. For so long I dreaded going into the second half of my twenties when really I'm not sure what I was so afraid of because the first half wasn't exactly the most pleasurable. And as usual when my birthday is on the horizon I start to reflect and here are some of my favourite things about being in the latter half of my twenties.

YOU REALLY DO STOP CARING

Even though I'm a natural born worrier and will probably always be a little more anxious than you're average as I've grown up I've stopped caring SO much. And it's the biggest relief in the world, I'm not sure what it is or maybe when you have adult responsibilities you just don't have the energy to worry endlessly about things that really don't matter. Of course, we all still worry to some degree but it's nowhere near to the extent that it used to be and unless things really effect you then letting them go is the best way I've found to live. Everyone says as you get older you stop caring but I never quite believed it until now.

YOU REALISE NO-ONE FEELS LIKE AN ADULT

For a large part of my twenties I was waiting for this magical moment where I would really feel like an adult. And at nearly 27 that moment has still never arrived and every time I talk to people older than me they say it never does and really we're all whinging it. In my early twenties I wasted so much time worrying that everyone else had their life completely together and they knew exactly what they we're doing. But I don't think I know anyone who really does and we're all constantly learning and evolving.

YOU STOP WANTING TO PLEASE EVERYONE

At some point we all probably go through a stage of constantly wanting to please absolutely every one, even the people we don't really like. But something I've learnt is that at a certain point that constant need to please melts away and it's probably one of the best things to happen as it teaches you what you really feel passionately about and what you don't. Serving your most loved ones is an incredible thing to do but constantly pleasing everyone else but yourself isn't a fun way to live.

YOU FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH WHO YOU ARE

When we're in education it's easy enough to find yourself changing who you are by the company that you're with and as we spend so many years in that system it can change how you are so many times. But once we're out of that close-knit environment and we start to discover who we truly are away from people making choices for us it's such a fun learning curve and definitely interesting. There is something so comforting about knowing who you are and feeling content in that fact. I always worried I was a little strange that enjoyed being by myself so much but now being older has taught me that's just who I am I am and as long as I'm happy with that then that's all that matters. Having a good positive relationship with yourself is hard but it's so important because it's the most valuable one you have as people can come and go but you're always with yourself.

YOU START TURNING INTO YOUR PARENTS AND YOU'RE OK WITH IT

There isn't a day that goes by now that when going about my daily tasks I do something that reminds me of my parents and it oddly makes me really happy. I always thought that turning into your parents would be strange but it's funny to see just how much I've adopted from them. And it's always the small things like how I do the laundry or how you think about something you're going to buy where it comes out. I'm sure we've all gone through stages where we can't imagine anything worse than turning into the people who raised us but I've found it oddly comforting.

YOU FEEL MORE SECURE WITH WHAT YOU TRULY WANT

During the beginning of my twenties, I was constantly worrying about what I wanted and constantly felt the need to prove myself. Then at around 24/25, I felt that pressure melt away and felt more secure in what I really wanted in life. I wasted so many years constantly thinking that I needed to follow the crowd to be happy in life but you really don't. And just because you might not want what's expected of you by societies norms it doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong or not doing as well as your peers. We're all running our own race in life at our own pace and just because that not might match others it doesn't make them wrong.

YOU CARE LESS ABOUT HOW YOU LOOK & STOP JUDGING OTHERS

I've always enjoyed preening and making myself feel nice and it's something that I still love to this day, quite an obvious statement considering I spend my days writing about beauty. But the biggest difference now is that I don't feel like I need those things anymore which is a huge thing for someone who wouldn't leave the house without makeup. As the years have gone on I truly have just stopped caring about what I look like constantly and if I leave the house with wet hair and no makeup it's not something that bothers me at all. Learning to love my appearance for what it is and not constantly wanting to change it has been one of the best things about getting older. And not only have I stopped putting that pressure on myself I've also completely stopped judging others on what they might look like too. Judging a book by its cover is one of the easiest but silliest things we can do.