Surprise Birthday Blog: 25 things I want to do in my 25th year!

Yesterday was my 25th birthday! WHAT?

I have been anticipating this birthday since last year. I don’t know what it is about my 25th birthday but I have a lot of anxiety about being 25. It feels extremely weird and I feel I was 15 like a week ago. I think the main reason why I feel this way is because I can’t believe that I have actually been alive for 25 years. It just seems so crazy to me and you might want to hit me for saying this but I feel old. I know, I know I am not even close to being or feeling old. But that’s just how I feel… Anyways I wanted to do something a little different and fun that I’ve never done. I came up with the idea yesterday while at work and I would like to share with you 25 things I want to do in my 25th year.  

25 things I want to do in my 25th year!

1. Read more…….of course! This is always a goal that I set/tell myself I am going to do. These past few years I have really made an effort to pick up more books. Hence why I am hear talking with you!
2. Learn to love myself. I have always struggled with this and I know I always will. I am not always going to love the way that I look and I have accepted that. But I want to learn to love the body that I’m in no matter what shape or size I am. Society’s beauty standards do not define me, they are unrealistic.
3. Go to BookCon. I have never been to any kind of book or fan convention before. Once I found out about BookCon I thought it would be a great even to attend since I am so close to NYC (a little under 2 hours) it would be easy for me to get there. Have any of you been to BookCon or another book conference? If so, what did you think of it?
4. Learn to save money. While I have gotten far better than last year, I would like to make an effort to save more money whether it be for a vacation, a gift for someone, something I’ve always wanted to buy for myself, or a nice date night with my husband. Being able to have the ability to do something nice for myself or someone else is something that brings me joy.
5. Go on more walks. I live in the beautiful Hudson Valley. There are so many beautiful places to walk/hike and I should really take advantage of this area and what it has to offer.
6. Develop my blog more. Just starting out with this blog has already been so much fun.. I am always thinking about blog posts to do and what I should read next.
7. Go to the beach. For the past couple of years I haven’t been able to get to a beach, but this year I would like to put in the time and money to finally go to the beach to relax and read a book!
8. Be more open to cook different kinds of food. I often bring lunch to work instead of buying something at the local deli. But I have a habit of cooking or making the same meals over and over again. After awhile that gets so boring. Good thing my husband got me a new cookbook for Christmas.
9. Be willing to try new food. I’d like to say I am pretty open to trying new foods and again, not only do I get bored of cooking the same meals but I get again extremely bored with eating the same meals over and over again.
10. Say no to things I don’t want to do…. And mean it! I do not like to disappoint anyone. Not my family, friends or myself. I often find myself saying yes to things I truly do not want to do. So this year and for the years to come I am going to start saying no to things I truly do not want to do no matter how much I will want to say yes just to please someone else.
11. Fill up my bookshelf. My husband just got me a beautiful new bookshelf for Christmas and it is pretty empty at the moment. I would love to fill it up with some of my favorite books and things that I buy throughout the year.
12. Learn how to speak conversational Spanish. I am so fortunate that my husband speaks Spanish. I had such a hard time in both high school and college with learning Spanish. I think it might be easier if my husband helps me since it’ll be a one on one lesson instead of a class full of 20 other kids trying to learn along with me.
13. Learn how to take better pictures on both my phone and my camera. For not being any kind of professional, I think I take decent pictures for what I have (iPhone XS Max and Canon Rebel T5). I would just like to become more comfortable with taking more pictures and experimenting with the different options they each have.
14. Discover new parts of my town/city. Whether it be somewhere outdoors, a coffee shop, a new boutique or a library I’ve never been to. I want to learn more about the places around me.
15. Make a new friend. Whether it be online or offline I would like to make at least one new friend this year. I am sure this blog will help, so many of you have made me feel welcomed already.
16. Get new glasses. I have had the glasses that I wear daily for at least 5 years (I know its more than that 😲) and I have said every year that I need to get new eyeglasses. Yet here I am with the same old prescription. So I am vowing to myself that I must get new glasses so I can see.
17. Expand my wardrobe. To make this one simple, I am in desperate need of new clothing for work and everyday wear. Any suggestion of places (plus size accommodating) to look?
18. Become a better speller. To put this plainly I suck at spelling. So I am going try my best to teach myself (and with the help of my very intelligent hubby!) to be a better speller.
19. Learn about my heritage. All I know is that I am Irish and Italian (at least that’s what my grandma tells me). I would like to learn if I actually am Irish and Italian, something else or maybe even something more, what town or city did we originate from and what are some cultural dishes I could make? Who knows, maybe that’s the family secret my grandma won’t tell anyone about 😉
20. Discover new music. Speaking of my Husband, he is always telling me that I should expand my musical palate because I often listen to the same songs over and over and over and over again until I get sick of it. I will do my best to consciously look into new artists or songs. Do you have any suggestions??
21. Get my custom domain. I have been thinking and talking with my husband about getting my own .com with this blog. There are so many benefits to getting one but I want to make sure that I am going to make a long time commitment with doing this. I don’t want to waste money on something that I am not going to do in 6 months.
22. Get off social media and enjoy the real world. I often find myself looking at others’ lives via social media. While sometimes that is nice to do, I feel like I am missing so many things around me.
23. Get rid of unnecessary things. My husband and I don’t have the biggest apartment and everywhere I turn I see clutter. I feel that it is extremely annoying and unnecessary to have things that you don’t regularly use or need.
24. Spend more time with myself. I struggled with being or feeling alone almost my entire life. Most of the times I feel uncomfortable and scared when I am not around others or even when i choose to be by myself. But with many years of therapy, I have learned that I have to deal with how I’m feeling. Understand it, acknowledge it and move on. I want to start doing things on my own, just being on my own, doing my own things and feel okay with it.
25. Have fun! Sometimes I know I forget to have fun. Being an adult doesn’t always have to be a serious thing. I can still goof off, hang out with friends and be sarcastic (my favorite pastime). I want to enjoy the time

Thank you to every person who has made this year really great. I am so grateful to all who are in my life. I am excited and nervous to embark on a new year. I hope that this next year is exciting and full of new opportunities. What are some things that you do for your birthday? Let me know down below in the comments!

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