Advice From a Late 20-Year-Old

[Listen to an audio version of this blog here.]

Quite bold of me to dispense advice, if I do say so myself.

I turned 28 yesterday (happy birthday to meeeee). Aren’t birthdays a wee bit overrated and also a goddamned godsend? Sometimes we just need a reason to celebrate. And sometimes, it gets fucking tiring to celebrate. And at some point, saying “happy birthday” begins to sound a lot like “congratulations on being born and not dying!”

I have the added luck of being born on my parents wedding anniversary (happy marriage day, you two!). As a mostly-adult, having parents who are still married is rare, and this seems more celebratory than me being born, but I digress. Getting older has been mostly good, and I like to joke to anyone older than me that I’m still “young and vibrant.” Last year I wrote a fun and quirky list of things I’ve learned and needless to say, I’ve learned some things since then. Here are a few.

1. If someone says, “You sure have changed,” take it as a compliment and maybe respond with, “haven’t you?” Change is supposed to happen, even if it’s uncomfortable or makes someone else uncomfortable.

2. Be patient. “This too shall pass,” said Abraham Lincoln, and don’t we all love to love him? Sometimes a lot of bad shit happens at once, but nothing *nothing* in this life is…