So… I’m now 24. Not going to lie; I have really been dreading turning 24. I know that, really, it isn’t old, but it feels it. Something about saying “I’ll be in my mid-twenties next year” fills me with an awful sense of dread. It feels like time is going by so quickly.
When I was 14 in school, I remember sitting down with friends saying, “I want to be married by this age” or “I want to have kids at this age.” I realised the other day that those ages are only a couple of years away. It feels laughable now me having a child in only a couple of years. It actually feels ridiculous putting a time scale on things like that at all!
But something feels very…weird about turning 24. It will be three years since I was at University. My sister is no longer a teenager. The last time I was at a pub, I was 22, and the next time I step inside one, I’ll be 24. I try not to think about time much as it puts my head in a spin!
Despite not wanting to turn 24, there are some things I want to bring into my last year of being in my early twenties, so here they are!
1 Stop Caring About What People Think of The Way You Dress
This is one I’ve been working on for the last couple of years as I’ve been experimenting with how I want to express myself through clothes. I think my style can be quite bold, and I no longer want to shy away from that or have a fear of being overdressed. After not being able to go out for a year, you bet I’m going to be overdressed wherever I go!
2 Don't Put Too Many Expectations on Yourself
Don’t get me wrong, it’s always good to have goals and ambitions. But it’s a horrible feeling when you don’t reach those goals for one reason or another. If there’s anything I’ve learned from the past year, it’s that you never know what life is going to throw at you, and things can get in the way, so go easier on yourself.
3 Keep on Working on That Self Love
My body changed a little bit during my time at 23. After being the same weight since I was a teenager, I think it’s about time I put a little bit of weight on. But with that weight came stretch marks. It’s not like I exactly hate them; they’re just a little worrying to look at as they can make your weight gain seem much more dramatic than it actually is. I’m still working on accepting that they’re a part of me now, and that’s okay.
4 Keep on Eating Better
I’ve been working on making my diet better this year, and I feel so much better for it! I’m eating my vegetables and drinking water, and I’m so much better for it.
5 But also Remember to Treat Yourself Sometimes!
Everybody deserves a treat, especially if that treat is chocolate!
6 Get Better at Saving Money
This is something I’m terrible at, and during the pandemic, it’s become apparent how important it is to save, especially during a time when I didn’t get as much work as I did before.
7 Never Say No to a Social Gathering Ever Again
Okay, this is a bit of an over-exaggeration because sometimes you do have to say no for whatever reason. Still, I need all of the social interaction I can get after only seeing one person for months on end.
8 Experiment More With Video Content
I didn’t want to make many of these about work, but I did want to include this one as I think it will be a fun little challenge for me. I’ve started doing some video content on Instagram, and I want to get more creative and fun with it this year.
9 Work on Your Sleep
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I suffer from insomnia. It’s definitely getting better (I think I can thank the curtains for that). However, there are definitely some nights that are still terrible. I’d love to work on different ways to help my insomnia when I’m 24.
10 Keep on Working on Defining Your Style
I’ve basically treated lockdown like a colossal fashion experiment. I’ve been trying out new styles and looks to figure out what I feel confident in and what I love wearing. It’s been super fun getting to know my style, and I’m excited to continue defining that style.
11 Read More Books
I keep on coming back to this one time and time again! I would love to read at least one book a month and watch less TV, but I seem to go through stages of being obsessed with books and not picking up a book for months. I need to find the right balance.
12 Write Blog Posts Quicker!
I love writing blog posts, but they end up taking me so long because I overthink what I’m writing too much. I’d definitely love to get quicker at writing them so I can get through them a lot quicker!
13 While We're Speaking of Writing, Get Back into Novel Writing.
Or At Least Come Up With an Idea.
I’m at that stage that every writer goes through where they desperately want to write but have no idea what to write or don’t have an idea. I think I’m suffering from some form of imposter syndrome and feel like I’m not good enough, so I would love to get confident in writing again.
14 Work on Saving Money
Now that I’m almost done with furnishing my house, I want to work on getting some savings, even if it’s just a little bit. Yes, I put this in twice for a reason.
15 Learn to Drive
I had my first ever driving lesson before Christmas, and then we went into lockdown. I have no idea when I’ll be able to have them again, but I would really like to at least feel comfortable driving by the end of the year, even if I haven’t passed my test yet.
16 Look into Sustainable Makeup
It’s no secret that the makeup world is highly unsustainable. There are never-ending amounts of plastic, and many companies are still testing on animals. While I do my best to only purchase cruelty-free makeup, much of it is still in plastic. I would really like to look more into sustainable makeup and see if it actually works for me and doesn’t break the bank!
17 Try Something New as Often as I Can
18 Wear More of Your Clothes!
19 Get the Hallway Redecorated
I’m proud of how much decorating we’ve completed in our house in less than a year. The only room left is the bathroom, and then we just need to do the hallways. The hallway is what I’ve been struggling most with in terms of ideas, so I would love to get that done and decorated this year as it’s incredibly outdated!
20 Continue Buying Second-Hand Fashion
I’ve (very slowly) been trying to stop buying fast fashion. I’m definitely not perfect and do make the occasional fast-fashion purchase from time to time. Still, for the most part, I’ve been buying the majority of my clothes from Depop or smaller brands. When I see something that I like on websites such as ASOS, I’ll head to Depop and see if I can find it, or something similar, second-hand. I’m excited for charity shops to reopen again so I can actually go out and do some shopping in person again.
21 Learn How to Cook More
The extent of my cooking is making one-pot meals as I get really stressed if I have to focus on more than one pot at once. I want to work on that and be a bit more adventurous with cooking!
22 Go Out on More Walks
Now that we aren’t allowed to go outside, the only thing I want to do is get out and do something. I actually went out on a walk today, and it felt really nice to get out of the house and get some fresh air.
23 Wear More Jewelry
I’m terrible at forgetting to accessorise my outfits. I have so many cute jewelry pieces, and I just forget to wear them! When we’re allowed to be released back into the wild, I want to be a fashion queen, and I blame Tik Tok.
24 Get Another Tattoo
You know what they say about tattoos, you can never get just one, and that’s definitely the case for me! It’s coming up to a year of me getting my last tattoo, and I’m absolutely dying for a new one!
And that’s 24 things I would like to accomplish at 24! I’m not being too strict on myself, and this is definitely just a loose guideline, but I think it will be fun to look back at these little things and see what I’ve managed to get done. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, especially at 24, which is just a year away from getting wrinkles, apparently!
