Make the most of my 20's

highlights of my 23rd year (very condensed version!)
-Got dumped by my ex-boyfriend, blessing in disguise!
-Amazing times travelling in Lisbon & Ireland
-Joining the CouchSurfing community, lots of good times and new friends
-Getting closer to my friends and being more sociable
-Enjoying some new hobbies – bellydancing, gardening, and baking!

It was my birthday yesterday so time to reflect on the past year. Here are the highs and lows.

-Visited Paris and had a lovely long weekend sightseeing with my boyfriend.
-Spending precious time with my family before my mum passed away. Making family a bigger priority in my life.
-Moving on from failures & learning acceptance. This has been a hard year for me, but as they say, the world keeps turning.
-Went to Germany for the Wacken Open Air festival! My best experience of the year so far.
-Taking steps toward a healthier lifestyle. Exercising, keeping fit, eating a few fruits and vegetables when the fancy takes me!
-Finding time to rest and enjoy myself. Doing things because I want to, not just doing the things that I have to do.

Here’s hoping that I will have a fulfilling 23rd year.

A lot of my friends spend their evenings and weekends drinking, drinking & drinking. I feel like I’m past the stage where I need to do this, and have only been on around 5 nights out this year. BUT the thought struck me, why am I wasting away my nights sitting in front of the TV when I could be out having fun? A few drinks isn’t going to hurt me, and I should be enjoying my youth while it’s here.
Going out drinking in your 30s-40s just looks sad, so if I don’t make the most of it now I won’t be able to enjoy drinking again until I’m in my 50s-60s, which is perfectly acceptable then because at that age you can pull it off as being ‘quirky’ or ‘eccentric’ :)
Time to drag my butt off the couch and into some bars & clubs!

My 22nd birthday is rapidly approaching, so it’s probably about time that I had a quick look back. Here’s some of the main things that I have have achieved so far in my 20’s. (Well, the ones that I consider to be the most important.)

• Started a new job.
• Bf and I had our first holiday away together.
• Swam with dolphins!
• Started planning for the future.
• Bought a house! (mortgage at 21yo not much fun, but worth it in the long run)
• First visit to the USA. Hope to go back again…and again…
• Learned to knit and crochet properly, very addictive hobbies.
• Made a conscious decision to LIVE my life to the fullest.
• Started properly appreciating my family and we all get along great these days.

As for getting another year older, it is a weird feeling. I already feel like I am too old to be going out clubbing but there is no way that is going to stop just yet. I guess it’s cause the clubs seem full of underage kids…
I have a lot of responsibilities but enjoying my freedom as much as I can.