Better With Age: Wine, Cheese and Life Perception..?

It’s my birthday tomorrow, the mantra “another year older, another year wiser” ringing in my ears, not necessarily ringing true of course, but probably should be be prevalent for someone in their late twenties (apparently 28 isn’t classed as mid-twenties, who’d have thought?!). Celebrations will come in the traditional party form of good ol’ fashion social distancing in the park with some mates who can make it without relying on public transport (wild right, I refuse to be tamed in my old age…). Although my housemate is bound to make it special and there was talk of pancakes in bed, so can’t really complain!

I’ve decided to do the blog post in list form like the ageing millennial that I am (Buzzfeed here I come), so here’s 28 exceedingly insightful (lol) things I’ve learnt in my 28 revolutions around the sun:

1. Be kinder to yourself, like genuinely be nicer. Have that extra slice of cake, glass of red, Jager bomb; life’s too short for moderation all the time.

2. You don’t have to have your dream job figured out right away; you can dither for a few years, choose a subject to study for three years and then after all that decide to pursue a different career than the one you studied for. 7/10 route would recommend.

3. Travel – go on at least one long trip for several months at a time. Travel is of course addictive so one adventure will never be enough…

4. Save any spare cash monies you can, even if you don’t have a reason you’re always going to appreciate a surplus of funds.

5. Go at your own pace – best mate has a baby and a house, and you’ve just found a reason to get out of bed in the morning post-Big Night Out? That doesn’t reflect accomplishment; it just indicates different priorities and a different stage in life. You do you.

6. Never compare yourself to others. That vapid influencer on Instagram giving her unsolicited skin care advice is most likely not ‘living the dream’ behind closed doors, so try not to covet other’s lives when you’re only privy to the tip of the iceberg.

7. Red wine is love, red wine is life.

8. Comfy PJs over sexy satin numbers any day of the week (although try not to hoard sets that you’ve had since you were 13…).

9. Perfect your fave cocktail recipe at home. This will always be useful.

10. Do something wild; of course this open to interpretation and could be as bold as trying oysters for the first time, or something tame like jumping out of a plane.

11. Know yourself and know your worth. Don’t be a doormat and stand up for what you believe in, even if it instigates conflict (my absolute least favourite thing in the world as I’m usually about as outspoken as a dormouse).

12. Eat ice cream for breakfast, birthday cake for lunch (even if it isn’t your birthday) and cereal for dinner cause you’re an adult and no one can tell you what to do (diabetes who?)

13. Read more. So much more. Or at least listen to a podcast.

14. Watch series/films outside your comfort zone genre (Downton Abbey is on my list).

15. Appreciate your home town. This is usually easier to do if you’ve left as you don’t tend to know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone. Penzance 4 lyf.

16. Call your parents/family members often. Don’t take them for granted like you did in your teenage years (cue 14 year old angsty emo stage).

17. Explore your surroundings; be it at home or work. Take some time to properly explore the area around you, sometimes you don’t need to go further afield to have an adventure.

18. Get a pet, even if it’s a rock, as it gives you companionship, a sense of responsibility and unconditional love (rocks I’ve heard are particularly loving creatures).

19. Get a plant; get another plant; get several more plants. Remember to water indoor rainforest.

20. Have a go-to bake – peanut butter cookies are always a winner in my eyes.

21. Find your party trick. Cracking out that breakdancing move on the sweaty, sticky nightclub floor will never get old…

22. Stick to a hobby damnit – pick up those knitting needles and power through.

23. Keep hoarding those beanie babies (they’ll be good for your retirement fund one day you’ll see…).

24. Go to more festivals/gigs/events. Just saying ‘yes’ more in general. This is when those surplus cash monies would come in handy.

25. It’s okay to not have a plan. I don’t even have a p.l.a.

26. Buy the new outfit but make room by clearing out some old garms. Have more clothes swaps with mates (who doesn’t love free clothes?!).

27. Learn something new. I haven’t yet decided if that’s a language, dance routine or a secret handshake.

28. When you’re in the final stage of grieving your age, accept what you can’t change and that ‘age is but a number’. The years start coming and they really don’t stop coming, so adopt the attitude of a mature cheese or a fine wine, and be under the impression that the best is yet to come.