It’s late, I know. I’ve been sitting in bed trying to figure out what to say about my mid-20s. At first, I was going to write something sad and dark, but then as I went through all the pictures, I realized that yes, a lot of horrid stuff happened to me: most of it happening in NYC, to be honest. My grandfather, who raised me and was like my father, died. That sent me into a trajectory to want even more for me than I already imagined. Then I moved to NYC, and to be the utmost of honest, I slept in my car the first few weeks, and I was so poor the first 2 months, I had to take from the grocery store, unfortunately, and even more crap happened with family and friends. I had one of the worst roommates of my whole life, and yet I lived with Akiena, who I absolutely adore and want the best for no matter the stages in my life. I even got into a car accident that now has me scurred to drive in any type of rain weather. You know the basic self-loathing stuff, lol, and this was just in NYC; imagine how horrible working at ADT was, lmao.
Except that wasn’t my actual mid-20s, that was just a rough ass year and a half that I still managed to live it up through. My mid-20s were filled with what??? TRAVELS, ADVENTURES, FRIENDSHIP, FAMILY, LAUGHTER, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, FREEDOM, AND LOVE!
I graduated with my master’s degree, I had my first big girl job at a call center, I met some of the best people in my life; I LEARNED HOW TO FREAKING DRIVE!!! I got tattoos, started dating so many men, and realized that arrogance does pay off lmao I decorated my first apartment, I became a beacon for many souls. I took a 4-month break and traveled all over the place. I think I went to about 13 states and 5 countries during my mid-20s and even surprised my great-grandmother with a trip to the African American Museum in DC. I also started a podcast and blog, a small cake business, and I went out to 3 events every single week no matter where I was in the world (during those 4 months). I didn’t tell anyone; I was just traveling and being. I blew through my entire savings, and it was the best decision I ever made!!!
Most of that was just four months at the tail end of my mid-20s; now imagine what the other years were like, nothing but fun as well. Sometimes we dwell on the bad moments because those were monumental shifts in our lives. I no longer want to do that moving forward in my life. Monumental moments are also the ones that get you through your day-to-day, and we must understand that not every interruption is negative. I interrupted my daily schedule for months, which turned out to be the best thing I ever did for myself. People always complain about not being young anymore in their 20s, and I was never that way; I deserve gap years too, I deserve happiness and love, and to work various jobs to figure out what I like because I like every damn thing. I freaking LIVED in my mid-20s, and I made so many memories it took me like 3hrs of searching and narrowing down my photos.
Do you know how fortunate, grateful, and happy I am to have lived my life on my terms and still come out the other end safe, sound, and beautiful? I thought my Mid-20s were a mess, and honestly, they were, but more importantly than that, they were freeing and nothing but sun showers that made me grow!
My mid-20s owe me nothing but a donut, a milkshake, and Trevante Rhodes.
Drinks and Desserts 