Category Archives: Lifestyle

This Is 25

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There’s a silly cultural reference and internet phenomena that claims the brain’s prefrontal cortex is considered “fully developed” by the age of 25. In society, 25 is often the age that you’re expected to have most things in life “all figured out” as a mature, settled down adult. But, a month into being a 25 year old myself—here’s what I’ve learned. 

— Just a handful of memes about turning 25 that I found funny.

It’s okay to not have everything exactly figured out right now. Life is full of constant evolution and unforeseen circumstances. So while we may wish to have full control and handle of our lives, because at this age that feels like the “responsible” thing to do, it’s okay to feel lost—as long as you don’t let your circumstances dictate your outlook on life and overall mindset. From a young age, I’ve known firsthand that while you cannot control your circumstances, you can choose to make the best out every situation. In a day and age where it’s easy to compare yourself to everyone else you see posting their seemingly “perfect” lives on social media, it’s important to realize your journey is your own, and there’s no “correct” way to navigate this world we all live in. 

So for me, 25 is finding joy in the small things. Looking around a room, at a dinner table, surrounded by your loved ones, and feeling immense gratitude. It is rediscovering the things that used to make you happy and provide comfort in your youth, such as the movies or music you used to play, and feeling that same sense of joy all over again.

25 is feeling soul-crushing nostalgia in childhood photographs or home videos—realizing you are looking at a moment in time that you cannot get back, and still feeling content, knowing now that you’re exactly where you are meant to be, and that everything that happens in one’s life can either shape you, or break you. It is realizing how far you’ve come and how much farther you have, still, to go. 

For me, 25 was about making a nearly week-long spectacle of my birthday, not out of conceit, but purely from a place of gratitude for life, and all the people I’m lucky enough to have around in mine.

Though only a month into being twenty-five, I vow in this moment to lean more into this gift I have—to keep expressing my thoughts in written words. In time I will continue to treat this blog like my own open journal and share my creations with the world, not under confines of a strict schedule, but freely, as they come to me.

So whether you’re embracing a new age with your “fully developed frontal lobes” or experiencing a “quarter-life crisis”, remember that while growing up seems scary, life is what you make it—this is 25.

Where I’ve Been

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If you’re reading this, I first want to thank you for sticking with me this long. I started this blog exactly six years ago in the same year and only a few short months before the world was going to shutdown due to a global pandemic. Since then, I’ve accomplished so much that I wanted as a writer, including self-publishing my own book— during a week-long power outage in my area. I can’t say that second part was in my plans when I envisioned publishing my debut book, but if I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that nothing ever goes strictly as planned.

You may have noticed my long absence on this site, and for that, I have no excuses. Since writing and releasing my book, I’ve been stuck in a long period of intense writer’s block. The same place I was in five months ago, during my last blog post celebrating one year of my book—the last time that I’ve written anything.

I’ve discussed it here before but I’ll say it again that it’s a tough feeling—to feel like I’m no longer a writer, because the words to say have simply not come to me in so long. But what I’ve realized is that I will always be a writer, and writing will always be a part of who I am, even during periods when I am not creating. This is certainly not the last you’ve heard from me, and I look forward to a long future doing what I love to the most.

So where have I been? I’ve been spending time with those I love most— my family and friends. I’ve been making an effort to take more pictures, to encapsulate all moments—to the smallest, seemingly trivial days to the more significant times this year, such as meeting a new family member!

In this new year, when I’m not creating, I wish to read more works from those who inspire me— a goal I’ve always set, but admittedly, have yet to fulfill completely. This shall be made possible now that I’ve acquired the book The Poetry of Emily Dickinson, someone I admire deeply. She’s a young woman who never realized her full potential, whose goal was never to write to publish and be seen, but simply for herself because she genuinely loved the art itself. She’s proof that despite what “success” may mean in the aspect of one’s career, notoriety might not even come until our days have long passed on this Earth. Like Dickinson, I too write for nobody but myself, to satiate this itch, this calling from within my soul. Despite this, in the new year I will work on improving my self-promotion, so one day the world knows about my words, and projects such as my book, that I put my soul into.

So looking ahead to this new year of 2026, and moving forward, I think the question isn’t about where I’ve been, but where I’m going.

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Happy New Year!