PANIC STATIONS. I turn 26 tomorrow. How did this happen? How have I now become closer to 30 than to 20? Does this now mean I'm in my late twenties, or can I still get away with being in my mid-twenties? Does anyone know the real definitions? EEK. Would sixteen-year-old Annie still be devastated that she doesn't own a house yet? Probs.
Anyway, with renting being on the cards for a few more years yet (sorry little me), I thought I'd put together a little list of things I've learned in my years on this planet.
Comparison is the thief of joy. It's such a cliche, but it's really true. I'd be lying if I said I'd worked out how to not compare myself to others all the time, but at least I can recognise I'm doing it and that it's not always the nicest thing to do
Tourists in London will always be annoying. I don't know how I haven't managed to get over this one yet, but it's very difficult when you have to walk through Westminster Tube station or over Westminster Bridge every day. I remind myself every day that I'm just as annoying when I'm abroad and that I need to get over myself.
That I have size 10 feet, not size 8 feet. I haven't quite learnt this one yet, as I still buy the wrong size shoes (seriously, try buying pretty size 10 shoes...it's impossible) but I'm getting better. The last pair I bought were a size 9.5. It's closer.
Comparison is the thief of joy. It's such a cliche, but it's really true. I'd be lying if I said I'd worked out how to not compare myself to others all the time, but at least I can recognise I'm doing it and that it's not always the nicest thing to do
Tourists in London will always be annoying. I don't know how I haven't managed to get over this one yet, but it's very difficult when you have to walk through Westminster Tube station or over Westminster Bridge every day. I remind myself every day that I'm just as annoying when I'm abroad and that I need to get over myself.
That I have size 10 feet, not size 8 feet. I haven't quite learnt this one yet, as I still buy the wrong size shoes (seriously, try buying pretty size 10 shoes...it's impossible) but I'm getting better. The last pair I bought were a size 9.5. It's closer.
School days aren't the best days of your life.
A good skincare regime is something I should have invested in earlier. Going in to Superdrug and throwing yourself at a shelf in the hope of something landing in your hands that at best doesn't make you spottier is not a strategy.
Cleaning my wooden floor with polish was so bloody thick. My housemates and I spent weeks slipping and sliding everywhere. I may as well have plonked banana skins everywhere. Don't do this guys, not unless you fancy cracking your head open every time you wear socks.
Exercise is vaguely miserable but always worth it. You really do always feel better for it afterwards don't you?
You move at a different rate to your friends. Although it gets harder and harder to smile when someone else tells you they're buying a house.
You can be lonely even when you're surrounded by people.
Never get into the habit of washing your hair every day. Because a) it's no good for you and b) it's so bloody boring.
You can't please everyone. To be honest, I'm still trying to learn this one.
Life is too short.
Everything happens for a reason. I'm a genuine believer of this. I once spent eight months searching for a job getting more and more depressed and desperate when one didn't appear. I later secured myself one of the best jobs I could have ever started with which has opened so many doors along the way.
It's okay not to care. Equally, it's okay to care too much. For example, I really do not care about X Factor or BGT, but I really care about what happens on Eastenders. Shrug.
Talking to people on the tube isn't the worst thing.
Cleaning my wooden floor with polish was so bloody thick. My housemates and I spent weeks slipping and sliding everywhere. I may as well have plonked banana skins everywhere. Don't do this guys, not unless you fancy cracking your head open every time you wear socks.
It's okay to not want to go out-out. I'm quite happy to see that part of my life confined to the days of University, along with painful heels and shit clubs. Mind you, it's probably a good thing - I think if I went out-out in London I'd be bankrupt.
Exercise is vaguely miserable but always worth it. You really do always feel better for it afterwards don't you?
You move at a different rate to your friends. Although it gets harder and harder to smile when someone else tells you they're buying a house.
Grandparents are everything.
First class Virgin train tickets are worth spending the ££ on. That free drink, separate seat and not having to run along the concourse with everyone else to throw yourself on a London Midland? I'd pay for that any day.
You can be lonely even when you're surrounded by people.
It doesn't really matter what qualifications you have. To a point anyway. No one has asked me what my GCSE results are for a long time and sometimes I even have trouble remembering what I took.
There is nowhere colder on earth than Clapham South tube station. I wish there was a way out that didn't involve that escalator into that wind tunnel. Colder than the South Pole.
Never get into the habit of washing your hair every day. Because a) it's no good for you and b) it's so bloody boring.
You can't please everyone. To be honest, I'm still trying to learn this one.
Life is too short.
Everything happens for a reason. I'm a genuine believer of this. I once spent eight months searching for a job getting more and more depressed and desperate when one didn't appear. I later secured myself one of the best jobs I could have ever started with which has opened so many doors along the way.
Even the nicest people can be toxic.
Social media is not real life. I will always remember being in exact same place as a famous blogger at exactly the same time and her tweeting complete bullshit about the weather. Such a small and silly little thing to lie about but it taught me to take everything online with a pinch of salt.
It's okay not to care. Equally, it's okay to care too much. For example, I really do not care about X Factor or BGT, but I really care about what happens on Eastenders. Shrug.
Talking to people on the tube isn't the worst thing.
Nothing good can come from Question Time. I can't remember the last time I watched this programme and didn't want to scream at the TV or get myself into a stupid twitter argument (seriously, I once got into a big argument with a man about whether you could have 52% of five people on a panel. You can't).
London isn't the be all and end all of life.
Investing in clothes is probably worth it in the long run. I think I'd cry if someone totted up how much money I've wasted on crap over the years in Primark.
Let me know if you agree with any of these. Or, let me know what you've learned in your time on this earth!
Annie x
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