Let’s step back, fall back and go back so we can understand that 25 doesn’t mean you have to have all of your shit together. If you do, congrats! You get a ribbon! If you don’t, welcome to the real world.
At 25 years old, I finally know how to apply make-up properly. Hallelujah!
Real talk, though, at 25, we’re so much different than we were at any other age in life because now, we are official adults. Yeah, we all say we're an adult at 18, or 21, mostly because we don't want to obey that curfew or Dad's strict dating rules, but 25 is where it all seems to click.
We now understand how to contour our faces, shape our eyebrows and outline our lips ... but more importantly, car insurance prices are going down, we live all on our own (for the most part), and we make big-kid decisions like what to cook for dinner and how to budget our money. We’re smarter, wiser and more independent. We start thinking about long-term life goals and building relationships. But sometimes, we still fall back into our 18 year old ways and we forget how valuable time is. So, to help keep on track and to remind us how crucial this period is to help set the tone for the rest of our lives, here are a few points to remember ...
11 Things to Remember at 25:
- Choose romantic relationships wisely.
You don’t need relationships that don’t better you. You don’t need to be with anyone who doesn’t have potential to be “the one.” So, if there’s any doubt in your mind about your current man candy or shawty, don’t waste your time. Have fun with whoever wants to have fun with you. Be with those who value who you are. If the man or lady you’re currently with doesn’t live up to who you need them to be, at 25, don’t waste your time. You are on the verge of major adulthood … where you like, get promotions at work and stuff ... and on the verge of your prime reproduction ages … where unconditional support is a must from your partner ... don’t waste the little time you have trying to convince someone of your worth. Those who value you will show you every day. Be with those people instead. - Live a little.
While you need to be aware that you are an adult, you don’t need to be an adult every single day. There are days where yes, your job needs to be your first priority or your family needs to be your first priority, but some days, it’s OK to sleep in. It’s OK to skip the chores and go do something fun. It’s OK to put things off until Monday. It’s OK to take a quick weekend trip to see your baby boo or to go away with your girlfriends or take a drive with the boys. Don’t stop having fun just because you’re an adult. That’s the quickest way to die … when you stop living. - Junk food isn’t food.
Make healthier choices because at 25, it’s no longer about looking good in that bikini. We’re now talking about high cholesterol, thyroid issues, things that we have to sort of come to terms with and understand that what we eat now determines our long-term health. Have a banana. Eat some salad. Your doctor will thank you and your quality of life will sustain. - Don't laugh at anti-aging ads ... Embrace them.
We stop producing collagen in our 20s so you know that means? Loose, flabby skin ... wrinkles and age lines ... all the things we thought would never happen, well ... it's-a-comin and this is the start of prevention. Get yourself some SPF. The oompa loompa look is no longer a thing ... Maybe for the six proms we attended in high school, but now, at 25, if you want to have nice skin into you elder years, embrace the anti-aging products and cremes. They really do make a difference ... especially if you think you're going to get some stretch marks from having kids. Start using that cocoa butter now if you don't already. Your baby daddy will thank ya lata! - Your parents are always right.
Learn from them while you still can. Take in everything they want to teach you and spend as much quality time with them as possible. Life is so short and our parents have so many valuable things to teach us. Knowledge is power. Take advantage of it. - Family over everything.
No one in this world can change the bloodline you come from. You can get married, find your soulmate, move across the country, go to outer space, win the lottery and when it’s all said and done, no matter who turns their back on you or leaves you hanging, your roots are the only thing you have that is certain. Family is family forever. Make them a priority. - Manage your time wisely.
Don’t get caught up in the hype of what everyone else is doing. At 25, it’s about you and your time and your life. Set your alarm earlier to get that workout in. Stay a little later at work to finish last minute projects so you have more time to enjoy your weekend. The Snapchat BS and Facebook stalking and all the hoopla of what others are doing and thinking is extremely irrelevant to what your journey is about and can really distract you from the now ... 15-minutes of scrolling turns into hours of just wasted time. Go get some fresh air and take a walk. Ride a bike. Play a board game. Be efficient with your time and if you're going to waste it, do so wisely ... in ways that will make your tomorrow a little easier, your butt a little tighter and your wallet a little fatter. - Do what you like. Forget about what you dislike.
Whatever discourages you needs to just stay in the past. Promote what you love instead of bashing what you hate. When you’re at a point where you know what you enjoy and what you don’t enjoy, you can manage your time to have more time to do what you like, be with who you like, in an environment that you like. So, let go of the negative as quickly as possible. Keep the past where it belongs and don’t burn any more bridges or add any more fuel to any fires. Just walk away. - Less technology. More talkie.
Let’s put our phones down. Let’s sign off of our apps. Let’s delete our invaluable, drama-causing accounts. Let’s stop letting everyone know everything about our lives and start building our network by face to face communication. Go to dinner with your man and leave your phones at home. Go to the movies with your honey and buy your tickets at the door with cash instead of online from your iPhone at home with your credit card. The rawness of life diminishes with technology and that’s one of the main reasons relationships, both platonic and romantic, become stale. We are too worried about everyone else and don’t know how to communicate effectively. We listen to the garbage from the outside world and worry too much about what he said and she said that we don’t live in the moment anymore. Let’s do more of that … Let's live more in the moment. - Make better financial decisions.
Retirement starts now. Do you want to work forever? Doubt it. Spend time traveling now, too, of course, but when you’re older and the kids have went off to college and it’s just you and your partner in your 50s and 60s, you’ll wish you had saved some money so you don’t have to work so damn hard forever. Spend a little less on the party nights and put some of that money to better use. - Put your goals in writing.
When you make a list of to-dos, it can help you organize your likes from your dislikes and can help you manage your time, finances, and relationships much better because now, you have an order of things you can do with intention rather than out of boredom. When we’re bored, we do unimportant things to pass the time. When we get specific with what we need to do and what we enjoy, we don’t waste time on things or people who keep us from fulfillment. Make lists to stay on track towards achieving happiness.
Getting older can be scary, but when we manage our years to make the most out of them, we can be a little more at ease knowing we lived our lives to the fullest with no regrets. Happy days, friends!
