Quick Fire Thoughts On Age And Turning 25

Its my birthday!

If you’re reading this on release day… Welcome, it’s my 25th birthday! Yay! 

I never really knew if 25 was one of those landmark birthdays like 18, 21, 30 etc, but it does feel like it? It’s a quarter of a century and could hopefully be a quarter of our lives if we make it that far, but in some ways it already feels like we’ve lived 100 years by 25. This birthday in particular has got me thinking a lot about age and what a silly little number makes us feel.

When I moved to Brighton I was 21, and 30 felt a million miles away. I didn’t have any friends over 25 so my perception of life past the big 3-0 was quite warped. Quickly after moving I met people of all different ages and noticed that life in Brighton moves slower in lots of ways - nothing opens till 10am and people often spend their adult years basically living like 20-somethings.

I barely noticed that all my friends and colleagues were older than me - but weirdly whenever I visit my hometown back up north, you can almost feel the societal pressure of owning a new build, having a baby and being married by the time you’re 30. Theres nothing wrong with having all those things if it’s really what you want, but it can be hard to feel as if there’s any other way to go through life. I can barely believe my mum was pregnant with me when she was my age, but when I was younger I assumed I’d be in the same boat by now. 

Living in Brighton and adjusting to a slower pace of life has made me realise that age means nothing and the age-specific goals we set ourselves are more damaging than we realise. Such as being in our dream job fresh out of uni at 21 or buying your first property by 27. Every year our birthday comes around quicker and quicker and you can feel like nothings changed in the past 365 days, and if so, that’s totally fine. But it’s easy to compare yourself to your peers and feel as if you’re failing when you don’t meet those goals.

When I was a teenager I always thought I’d feel like an adult when I lived with a partner in a flat that we’d fully furnished ourselves and I went to work 5 days a week at a job I loved. Now I’m 25 that is the reality of my life, and has been for about a year. In some ways I do feel like a grown-up but everyone has those existential moments of feeling like you have no idea what you’re doing and like it could all crumble around you at any moment. Based on many margarita infused conversations with friends, I don’t think that feeling ever really goes away, no matter how old you get. 

All things considered, I’m feeling pretty good about turning 25, so here are 10 things I’d love to do throughout the next year: 

1. Rescue a dog

2. Go to LA / Ibiza / NYC

3. Camp at a festival again (it’s been too long!)

4. Start Therapy

5. Master using the espresso machine at home

6. Go on a girls holiday

7. Host a WTF event IRL

8. Do a short course in Fashion Journalism

9. Knit everyone I know a cute scarf for Christmas

10. Start earning a regular income from my side/freelance projects

This newsletter was basically me saying a whole lot of nothing but here’s to 25!!