Twenty-eight
I’m finally 28, I feel so different but at the same time exactly the same!
I don’t have a ton of wrinkles that can tell you a story, I don’t have thousands saved in the bank and I am not where I thought I’d be when I made a wish on my 16th birthday to grow up!

Being away from home for almost ten years has taught me most of all how to be happy with being alone!
I have transitioned from a pessimistic and undoubtedly angry teenager to a person filled with eternal hope, a person with patience and a person that sings in the car while driving! One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned is that is okay to think something but that doesn’t mean you have to say it out loud.
If someone is mean, let them be mean, it’s not your place to let them know, if their parents didn’t teach them manners, you don’t get to be the one to talk to them about common courtesy. I’ve surely but slowly developed a filter. When I was younger I used to be so angry with people when they’d sugarcoat the truth or say hello to someone they just spent an hour gossiping about.
I still get angry today, but at least now I get it! I get the whole pretence of being polite, saying what you wanna say without being hurtful and saying hello to that one person you don’t really like.
I get it but I think is going to take some time before I’m the one that’s waving. Everyone grows up eventually, Maybe when something bad happens in the midst of tragedy or maybe with time. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t made mistakes, no one is faultless and no one is born with an instruction manual titled “Life”. The amazing thing about getting older except from credit cards, is the fact that you learn from your mistakes in hopes that you don’t repeat them again.
True growth comes from within, accepting what cannot be changed and changing what can! I am blessed to have been taught by many people in life, by “friends” that left that life goes on, by an acquaintance whose wife abandoned him, bravery in raising his children alone, by a relative that passed away that is okay to be loud and being yourself, by my best friend suffering with a spinal injury that life will get better if you are strong, by a close friend that lost her father, that you can stand tall and work hard despite being overwhelmed by grief.
I’ve been taught by a lot of individuals and all of these lessons were important, they made me who I am today, a better me. I’ve spent this summer taking half a breath, worrying about everything and everyone putting up the bravest face. The next bad news I would hear, what will happen next, what if? Right now thinking about it I realise how stupid I’ve been. As if worrying can change something! But the latest lesson I’ve been taught is that your life as amazing or as horrible as it is, can and will change in a split second.

Be thankful for what you have. I’ve learned so many things in these 28 years, harsh realities about life, beautiful stories about love, met one of a kind people, been forgotten by so many others. Most importantly I’ve learned that life goes on! Live your life your own way, play by the rules but don’t be afraid to break them. If you believe and I mean truly believe in something stand your ground, be authentic to who you are.
Many of our thoughts are curated and imprinted on us by our surroundings, our culture, our misconceptions so don’t be quick to judge, to accuse or to crucify. You may know people but you don’t know their story!
Here’s to another 365 days around the sun!
“-Do not judge my story by the chapter you walked into”- Unknown