23 things I have learned by 23
I turned twenty three on may thirtieth and I know that sounds young to some and old to others, but I’m convinced I’m still a sixteen year old at heart. Can you really call it aging if you’re only twenty three? Sometimes I feel a bit like a fraud because well…I’m married….I have a baby….and I cant even legally rent a car yet. It’s also funny because the Utah girlies all get married and have their own family by the time they’re 20, so by their metric maybe I’m a wee bit behind. (this is a joke Utah girlies pls don’t get mad). My whole life I have always felt like I was older than I was, but now as I’m growing up, I’m finding that I actually feel younger? It’s interesting. When I moved out after high school and got a 40 hour a week office job, I was convinced I was mentally at least 28, maybe even 35. And by the way I dressed back then, you would have believed it. I had short short blonde hair and exclusively shopped at Target while being afraid of showing my personality to anyone I worked with. I don’t like to think about that Lauren because she’s just not me anymore. Maybe that’s how I’ll feel about this age too, but one thing I can say now is that I feel like I’m truly truly starting to be myself. So, here is what I know:
1 eat ur veggies
2 I get the birthday blues every year? only hot girls cry on their bday
3 spending money doesn’t count if it’s for your personal wellness. your wellbeing = priceless
4 ur not special to anyone but your mom and like maybe three people (and Jesus of course) (this one keeps me humble and from over sharing)
5 everyone is their own main character
6 stanley cups are worth it
7 I love walks
8 always keep Trader Joe’s frozen honey walnut shrimp on hand
9 making ur own coffee creamer is superior
10 redeem ur birthday drink at Starbucks (and put ur birthday in the other apps for the days after ur birthday for week long birthday treaties) I’ll get free caribou coffee tomorrow, free Dunkin Thursday…u get it
11 i respect moms so much more now that I am a mom
12 I still don’t like carbonation after my twenty three years of life but every so often I get a hankering for *a* sip of a coors light. nothing more than that though or I’ll not be a happy camper.
13 make ur bed everyday <3
14 life isn’t fair and apparently it never will be? so this was a good one to learn
15 being married is so fun! but I still can’t say “my husband” with a straight face so I call him my bf
16 u r ur own worst critic, this one is still processing
17 always look in the men’s section at thrift stores
18 sometimes u have to gatekeep (idc sue me, sometimes it’s nice to have something just for urself)
19 if a restaurant has 4.2 stars, it’s definitely a 5 star restaurant bc the majority of reviews are based off of service and not actual food. if my food is good and our waitress is having a bad day, so be it.
20 baking is therapeutic
21 finding a good Spotify playlist is just 🤌🏼 and there’s NOTHING (!!!!) wrong w playing a song over and over and over until u r sick of it (I do this)
22 lots of things (most things) aren’t worth arguing over. if someone insists they r right, but u know they r wrong, it’s best to just let them live their fantasy
23 mocktails taste better
See ya next year this time babies, love ya much
xx,
lauren