Welcome to the annual birthday post! My birthday is January 30th, but because I follow a posting calendar (podcasts every other Monday, monthly recap posts on Wednesdays at the end of the month) the first opening for this post is mid-February.
I started doing these posts when I turned 20 and have written every year (except 26 for some reason). You can check them all out here: 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27.
When reflecting on what I could share this year that would be different or meaningfully additive to what I’ve already shared, I came up with a list that doesn’t have much of a theme and is repetitive. I decided to narrow it down to the most important (but repetitive) lesson and one new lesson.
Patience
I wrote about this being important when I turned 25 and I can’t say I have gotten that much better at embracing patience since then. I’ll never stop trying, though!
In this last year of life I’ve had a lot of things happen that I just wanted to get through quickly (dealing with acne, job challenges, family difficulties, depressive thoughts) and as I’ve gotten older the gravity of it all feels heavier. Even though I logically know that everything passes, I am afraid that it will pass and I’ll be ushered into a worse scenario.
Patience is a virtue and I’ve learned this year that it needs to be a focus and reminder for me every day.
Document your memories
I’ve really leaned into documenting memories, both publicly and privately, and it brings so much joy!
For me this looks like my monthly recaps on the blog (that I’m now bringing to Instagram too!), journaling, using a physical planner, and printing photos for an album (get my guide here for how to manage your photos). I try not to do things for the purpose of taking photos, but rather do things for sake of it and remember to document it for future enjoyment.
It also helps my memory when I capture experiences through photos and writing. Figure out your ideal way of documenting memories and lean into it! The years go by fast.
What have you learned in your last year of life?
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