Turning 29 – The Last Year of My Twenties

It’s been 14 days since I turned 29 and that gives me 351 days until I turn 30. An age I’ve witnessed family and friends get scared about and I’m not sure if it’s because they believe they should have their life “figured out” by then and have achieved everything they wanted from High School but I want to share and whether anyone listens is another thing but 30 isn’t ‘old’ and you will never know everything about anything in life.

Right now the song playing in the cafe I’m in is One Tree Hill’s opening tune I Don’t Want to Be by Tim McGraw with the lyrics “I don’t want to be anything other than what I’ve been tryna be lately” and it’s very fitting as this song is perfect for me as I enter into what feels like a new chapter of my life where I’ve become more comfortable in who I am and less concerned about how I appear to others.

That’s not saying I didn’t have a momentary blip about turning 29 because I did. I still feel like I don’t have my shit together but when I sat down and went over what “having your shit together” meant to me I realised that I’ll probably always feel like that unless I changed my way of thinking and stopped comparing myself to where others are at 29. We have all had different living environments, relationships, and experiences that make us who we are.

This is why going into the last year of my 20s, I’m not going to pretend anymore and by that, I mean with my mental health and that everything is fine. I also want to continue to surround myself with people who I enjoy spending time with and have my best intentions at heart as I do with them. There are so many people that say these years are the best time of your life but life continues after 30 as well and so far reflecting back on past experiences in my 20s I’m okay to let them go so in the next 351 days I’m attempting challenges, saying yes to new experiences, and going to document it all right here. I’m also going to say no and take time to let myself truly discover who I am. On Voluptuous Chatterbox, I’m going to open up conversations about topics I’ve never before and interview inspirational women both locally and worldwide to hear their advice and perspectives on love, life, career, and mental health. I also want to highlight different businesses, local community projects, and charities that make a positive impact on women.

I do have a bucket list of 29 things I’d love to complete and I may share them in an upcoming post as it isn’t something I’m focusing all my time and attention on completing but more a guide of things I’d like to do. I will however share 6 of the things I hope to accomplish by my 30th birthday.

Have a skin-care routine

I don’t have a solid skin-care routine and I believe I should, I have everything I could need from moisturiser, toner, and all the thrills in between although my motivation is lacking when it comes to starting.

Truly learn to love myself

I mean really truly learn to love myself, from what I consider “flaws” to every bump and inch of myself. I always tell myself I love my body and brains but then will self-criticise so much. This has got to go.

Discover more of Northern Ireland

I’ve not travelled nearly half of the places I’d have loved to which is why I’m finally at a stage where I’m saying “let’s do this” There’s the Giant’s Causeway, Titanic Museum, Belfast Castle and more exciting places I’ve yet to be in person.

Learn when to ask for help

I keep everything locked inside and never ask for help from friends or family. I will be touching more on this subject and I think it’s something we could all learn to do. Often we let everything build up inside of us to a point where one thing can be the detonator that sets everything off and I want to learn when to ask for help and know that’s okay too. I will always tell people to speak out and talk to someone when struggling yet I don’t take my own advice, this is something I need to do.

Try to overcome the past

I’ve let the past dictate my decisions and happiness for so long that in order to truly move on and look forward I need to try and deal with certain situations that I’ve experienced and been through. This is something I want to focus on and share more off in the future.

Let myself enjoy the present

This ties into the one above, to not focus on the past but to enjoy the present and not worry about how things can even go wrong in the future. I often find myself worrying about things that a) haven’t happened and b) are out of my control. My boyfriend always says I never let myself enjoy the right now so that is something I want to try and do.

How was turning 29 for you? Did you have any plans or bucket lists for the last year of your twenties? Did you have a momentary “oh shit” moment like me?