Hello everyone! Welcome to BirthMay 2020! It’s my birthday!

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It’s a little weird celebrating in the Q but it is what it is! Today I’m sharing 29 things I’ve learned by 29, because I’m turning 29 today. I’ve done this post a few years in a row, so there might be some overlap here.

In case you’re new, BirthMay is my annual birthday celebration where I blog every day for the month of May. This is the fourth annual BirthMay and no matter how many BirthMays you’ve been here for, thank you for your support!

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29 things I’ve learned by 29

1. Be flexible – no matter what happens, just go with it and do what you can.
2. Patio life is the best life – and if you don’t have a patio just spending some time outdoors does wonders.
3. Remain graceful – there’s times when people who have attacked me have been super disappointed when I’ve remained graceful and looking back, it’s very satisfying! I highly recommend it.
4. You don’t have to be productive ALL the time – down time that isn’t productive is super important too.
5. Keep your conscious clean – there are times when I’ve had to make the choice between taking the high road or not, same as everyone else. I’ve never regretted it once when choosing the high road.
6. Don’t stress – even though I stress all the time, it’s just not worth it.
7. Don’t let people tell you how to feel – I had a conversation right before I was let go at work (for virus reasons) where I realized that I had no reason to let the person talking to me “decide” how I was feeling. I was honest and said I wasn’t upset at the decision and that person tried to convince me I was? I remember being super taken aback that the person was trying to argue that I was wrong about my own feelings. Honestly, no one can tell you how you should or are feeling. Trust yourself.
8. Be positive – there’s really nothing you can’t fix without a bit of positivity!
9. Laugh often – because life is more enjoyable that way!
10. Stuff is not necessary – as a slowly recovering hoarder, I’ve come to realize that having less stuff is really the way to go. I’m working on using up the stuff that I have and then not replacing it as I likely already have a back up somewhere. Having less stuff has really helped me be a lot more organized too so that’s great!
11. Keep an open mind – for years I thought yoga would be too “boring” for me. I was totally wrong because once I tried it with an open mind, I ended up loving it and now I try to do yoga every day or at least most days of the week.
12. Look up what you don’t know – always do more research and try to figure it out for yourself. I find that I learn things much better when I try to look up my own information for something.
13. Live in the moment – in the Q, I’ve had so many happy memories come up of travel I’ve done, events I’ve attended, etc. It’s such a great reminder to live in the moment when doing fun stuff, and even when in the Q.
14. Always have multiple jobs – I had been thinking of applying to a part time job just to have a bit more income before the Q and hadn’t gotten around to it. Now that second job would have really come in handy!
15. Pick up many hobbies – if being at home has taught me anything, collecting hobbies is the best hobby.
16. You don’t need fancy equipment for a new hobby – I find that it seems common for people to decide to take up a new hobby and go out and buy a ton of stuff for it. While it is exciting to learn something new and set yourself up for success, I find that I don’t always stick to that hobby and it’s so wasteful to buy stuff to never use more than a few times. Instead, I try to use stuff I already have or just get a couple things that are truly necessary to start, and once I get better and stick to it then buy what I need! It’s much more exciting that way because then it’s not wasteful that way.
17. Say yes to opportunities – you never know where they’ll lead!
18. When you want to redecorate, look at what you have first. Sometimes, stuff gets stored away because it doesn’t fit the current decor so I always check first and then end up finding stuff I would love to use again. Also, moving around furniture a bit really refreshes the space too.
19. Be kind – I think this one is pretty self explanatory!
20. When something is difficult, stick to it – for example, BirthMay is 31 days of blogging, and it can be a lot, but it’s so worth it!
21. Take a breath – when everything feels crazy, overwhelming, incredible, or pretty much anything else, just take a deep breath or two. Especially since starting yoga, this is such a great practice to get into!
22. Always do the right thing – for example, staying home during a pandemic.
23. Learn as many skills as possible – right now in the Q, I’ve found a ton of new baking recipes to try, some DIY projects, even some digital art. Some stuff that I’m learning is just for me, but some of it is stuff I can bring up in future interviews or for future jobs.
24. Be a good person – this one is pretty self explanatory too!
25. Keeping balance is great for your mental health – read my recap post for a bit more!
26. Gratefulness is so important – I’m so grateful that I’m at safely at home and my family is still currently healthy.
27. Enjoy experiences – this one is a little similar to living in the moment, but I mean more for new experiences or more unique experiences. For example, when I went to NYC last year, it was my first visit to that city. Enjoying it as my first experience in NYC was really special and I’m so happy I had that trip to enjoy.
28. Karma is real – I have no doubt in my mind about it!
29. Live with intention – more on this one tomorrow!

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So those are 29 things I’ve learned in 29 years. I’m so happy you’ve joined me today in my birthday post!

Thanks for reading!

Pamela

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