7 Things About Adult Me That Would Shock Younger Me
I chuckle to myself a lot when I think about how much I changed over the last ten years. I turn 27 (!!!) today and can’t help but think how teenage me would be in shock/horror of adult me.
1. You use a lunch bag?! // Yep, sorry younger me! As cool as you wanted to be in high school by shoving food in your backpack / eating out with friends / grabbing food on campus, bringing a lunch bag is so practical. You don't have to fumble around with a ton of things and you can throw as much as you want. It's the best solution!
2. You don’t keep up a well kept pedicure?! // Idk how younger me did it but I pretty much have zero energy to do a pedicure on the regular. Growing up I would almost always have a nice pedicure on and would be ready for sandal wearing season at any time. (My nail polish collection is/was crazy and I have a very steady hand. I paint all my friends' nails.) Even in the Winter, I would have my toes painted a nice dark hue. These days I'm totally find with letting my toes breathe and the look of bare nails doesn't even bother me.
3. You don’t wash your hair everyday?! // Ok, this one is a more recent one but it's been *almost* three years since I took to washing my hair every other day/few days. I've had long hair pretty much all my life and could not stand the smell of second day hair. Granted it's not like it smelled bad, but it just didn't smell fresh? I was always paranoid that my skin would break out if I slept on my pillow with "old" hair as it would just spread oils everywhere. L O L. That's not even close at all and I'd say the health of my hair has improved immensely over the last few years. My hair used to be dry and frizzy - mostly cause I blow dried and straightened my hair every. single. day. Those poor strands. But now they're happy, healthy, and a lot smoother.
4. YOU HAVE A CORGI!!! In high school I was low key obsessed with corgis and after seeing the famous corgi flop video (you know, the one where the corgi jumps off the dock with such hope just to belly flop onto the water), I knew I wanted one. I legit showed everyone in my family that video numerous times and would laugh uncontrollably (I was weird - what can I say). There was a period in college where my then-boyfriend also loved corgis and we said we'd get one one day. When things went south with him with a little added drama, getting a corgi was the last thing I wanted. I became low-key obsessed with French bulldogs thanks to @frenchiebutt - and thought for sure I would get one instead. However last year when my best friend was getting a corgi, I spotted another tan male in the litter (Ollie) and knew I had to have him. I kept sending photos to my boyfriend and kept asking him to get him. He is low-key obsessed with corgis so I knew I had a really good chance of persuading him - and that I did. We welcomed little Ollie ball into our lives last March and he is such a huge part of our lives now that we can't even imagine not having him in it.
5. You’re living with your boyfriend?? // I grew up in an extremely conservative household so this is one I never thought would happen. Growing up I would talk with my girlfriends about how we would live together post-college and would use the oven to store our shoes like Carrie from SATC because we clearly wouldn't be cooking. While I still don't cook, the prices to rent an apartment in the Bay Area are extortionate and that was not likely to happen. Going from living with friends away from home in college to moving back in with parents was extremely hard. Losing that extra touch of freedom felt very suffocating and I often felt that I was holding back myself from growing. My boyfriend felt the same at home and after dating for over four years, we thought we should just take the step together. While we knew our parents wouldn't be thrilled with the fact (sorry mom if your'e reading this), we knew that it was something we needed to do for ourselves. I remember reading an article a few years back that said that a lot of people that live with/rely on their parents are often held back as they know if they fail they have someone else to rely on. When you're fending for yourself, things change as you can't afford to fail. While I know my parents would be there if I ever really needed them (financially), I needed to take this extra step to push myself further. In that time, both my boyfriend and I have gotten promotions, raises, and have pushed ourselves to go above and beyond. Would these things have been possible when we were living at home? Maybe. But living out has given us that extra drive to work harder for ourselves and for our futures.
6. You've travelled internationally!!! // Growing up my family never traveled much. Up until I was about 15, my brother and I would play the "Never have I ever been outside the country" card when we played Never Have I Ever with our friends. I went out of the country with my parents to Asia (Hong Kong + Japan) after my freshman year in high school, and aside from that I only went to Canada mid-way through college. I had dreamed of going to Europe for so long and was able to do so back in 2015. I went on a 3-week long backpacking excursion with my boyfriend through France, Italy, and Spain. And the year after I was fortunate enough to hop over to the UK with my friends from college. And last year I was lucky enough to jump through Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong with my boyfriend and his family. I'd never considered myself as much of a traveler but my 20s have definitely proved otherwise. I have quite the travel bug and wish I could find a career that allowed me to travel and explore more frequently. We're headed to NY later this year, a first for my bf and I after turning 21, and we're stoked.
7. Wow you're blogging?? Younger me would watch videos of YouTube and read blogs - never in a million years did I think I'd be running one and doing well with it. Sometimes I wish I had started earlier and didn't let all the "mms and ahhs" get in my way. I was also always very shy with my photography and didn't want to be criticized over it. I loved taking candid photos and capturing things for friends - but never really being on the other side of the camera. I wanted to do yearbook but never had the guts - and I even got asked a few times in high school why I wasn't doing it. It just tells me that I need to have more courage to do things and not think so much into things.
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I'm not really sure what kind of post this was but in honor of turning 27, I thought I'd just share these '7' bits. Goodness me I could not have come up with 27 - but maybe next year I'll follow through and actually do a list with 28 items. What are some things that you think younger you would be surprised at by older you?