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It’s almost August and it’s gonna be my birth month! I’ll soon turn 28.
What can I say. Life has been a rollercoaster ride of events. Some days were difficult, but other days are also incredibly blessed. From someone who self-pities herself a lot — lost and afraid of the world — to someone who now understands her strengths and tries to live a life expressing it, I must say, it’s a good life after all.
At 24, I thought I knew a lot. But as the saying goes:
“A foolish man thinks he knows everything. A wise man knows he doesn’t.”
I experienced how it felt to be the foolish woman who thoughts she knows it all. Lol.
But as I grow older, I just realize how much I still don’t know in life. And it’s a beautiful life-long journey.
So far, at 28, here are my most significant realizations:
28 Things I Learned Now That I’m 28 Years Old
- Don’t stress about things we can’t control. Go with the flow, and arm ourselves with the courage to face whatever life might bring.
- Twenties is a phase of finding yourself — your true strengths, searching for your place, growing your expertise, and learning from mistakes and failures.
- You talk to people when you’re sad or down, not keep it all in.
- You can’t change the past, but you can change the present. Today is the most important day.
- Sometimes, humility will save us from excessive self-consciousness. Realizing it’s not always about me made me less of an overthinker, and more of a doer.
- Success and failures are overrated; it’s not the end goal. Don’t obsess over it.
- Faith in something is important. Faith becomes your core belief, and belief becomes your actions. Your actions become your life.
- Build a passive income, or grow your expertise to get a high-paying job for financial freedom.
- Never be afraid to try your ideas. Win or fail, you will learn something just by trying.
- Time flies after graduation; find a way to capture the moments, whether through pictures, videos, or journals.
- Not everyone needs a thousand-dollar trip to be happy. Go hike, find a new foodie place, or travel with friends. Life is more eye-opening beyond our four walls.
- Stop obsessing over problems you can’t solve today. If you can’t do anything about the problem today, don’t think about it. Don’t waste that brain activity.
- But if you can do something about it today, then do it. Don’t let them pile up!
- Meet with friends you haven’t seen for years. They’ve journeyed enough, the same as you. Their stories will be precious and mesmerizing.
- Your partner is not your possession. While you grow together, you also have to grow individually.
- Do you feel anxious and unneeded at work? Quit. If a job doesn’t utilize your strengths or provide self and career growth, leave.
- You will stumble a lot, focus on different random things, get lost, and leave many plans behind. All these things must happen before you identify what truly resonates with you. But after all those endeavors, don’t worry—you will find your purpose.
- Once you figure out your true calling, give it a laser-like focus, and you will prosper.
- Movement – whether exercise, career growth, doing chores, or traveling – is a valuable aspect of making a human being happy.
- Consume less sugar.
- Repentance comes from the person who made the mistake, and forgiveness is a gift from the person who’s been wronged. Always choose to forgive, even if it takes you a long time to do so.
- Appreciate your parents more and the wisdom of elderly people. Even if they are behind in technology and trends, I highly respect their insights about people, family-making, perseverance, and resilience. They’ve thrived in life decades more than we have.
- Make friends—younger, older, and people your age. Young people will teach you about the changing times. Older ones will give you insights into what they’ve experienced in life. People your age will be the community that shares the same experiences as you. You will support each other.
- Don’t let the world revolve around your flaws. Focus on the strengths that will make you win.
- Always do and seek the truth. It may feel miserable at first but lies only entangle you with more lies. Truth sets you free.
- Find activities that don’t involve screen time. This way, you’ll spend more time with your own thoughts and less time with external noise.
- In my early 20s, I enjoyed being alone with myself. Now that I have established my identity and honed my strengths, the next step is to relate myself to others and be a helpful person in my community so people can be blessed through me and I through them.
- Last but not least, I knew Christ. My confidence grew in Him. Jesus Christ didn’t promise an untroubled life; He promised He would be there with me despite all the troubles. His peace transcends any storm!
These are the things I’ve pondered, experienced, and practiced as I face my late 20s. I’m still hoping I can learn more through time.
Thanks for reading! God bless! ^^
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