Last month I turned 25. I always find birthdays quite difficult and stressful – I put so much pressure on myself to have a perfect, stress-free, love-filled day that inevitably I always end up disappointed. This year I was determined to have a stress-free birthday, and while it was the best birthday I’ve had for years, it still had its stressful moments.
So, inspired by my friend Jo Moore’s birthday post – Being 25 and Learning to Like Myself – I’ve decided to start a new tradition and celebrate all the great things I’ve done each year around my birthday. I hope that this positive post series will help me feel proud and accomplished when the date comes around each year, and help towards my goal of liking myself. 🙂
What I did as a 24 year old:
- Completed Couch to 5k and ran a 5k Race for Life
- Played 20+ gigs
- Performed in front of 500 people
- Released a live EP
- Tried yoga after years of wanting to do it
- Moved in with my partner and redecorated together
- Got 2 tattoos (here and here)
- Appeared on TV
- Started CBT and worked on my low self-esteem
- Became the secretary for the Swansea Feminist Network
- Spent a fortnight in Japan (my first time in Japan, my first time outside of Europe, my first long-haul flight, my first holiday without my parents, and the furthest I’ve ever travelled!)
- Became the co-chair of the Swansea Uni LGBT+ Staff Network
- Tabled at 3 zine events
- Wrote and published 3 zines
- Went surfing for the first time
- Got a new desk job that I love and am good at
- Worked in a print shop for a month
- Completed a vocal technique online course
- Redesigned my website
- Went to Alive in Berlin and had one of the best weekends of my life!
- Travelled abroad alone
- Visited Germany for the first time
- Performed live on the radio twice
- Attended my first Comic Con and cosplayed for the first time
- Played my first music festival
- Came off my antidepressants for the first time since I started taking them 5 years ago
- Played 3 corporate gigs
- Came out to my work colleagues
- Sold a load of my junk at a car boot sale and made £100
- Learned some Japanese phrases
- Went for 2 minibreaks in London with my bf
- Set up a regular newsletter
- Did a DIY photoshoot
- Made a pillow fort
- Visited the UK’s best beach (Rhossili)
- Made a (tiny) profit from my music career, for the first time!
My hopes for my year as a 25 year old (I set my proper goals every year in January, so these are more like overarching hopes for my year of being 25 years old):
- Finish my 2014 scrapbook, and start a 2015 one in the new year.
- Record more material
- Release at least 1 EP
- Play more gigs
- Add lots of new products to my shop
- Run a 10k
- Keep doing yoga, maybe as often as 3 times a week
- Generally get fitter
- Set up a morning routine and a bedtime routine, and stick to them!
- Read more books, zines and comics
- Grow my own herbs and vegetables
- Be calmer and happier
