When I was younger I used to think that by the age of 21 I will have it all figured out, and I couldn’t be more wrong and that’s okay because there is no such thing as ‘having everything figured out’.
Age is such a funny thing, at the same time you are the oldest you’ve ever been and the youngest you ever will be, that’s why sometimes it can get a bit confusing because you panic that you haven’t achieved something because omg you’re this old but at the same time you’re still so young when you look at the big picture of life.
Getting older is scary, because you have to be more responsible, take serious life changing decisions like whether you want to settle down or what career path you want to choose but at the same time I find that each year I feel like I’m better at being ‘me’, each year I get to know myself more and more, get to know what I like and dislike, get stronger with each challenge that life brings me and learn and grow as a person. That’s why when people who are 30 or 40 say that they are the happiest they’ve ever been or the most comfortable in their skin they’ve ever been, I believe them because some things come with time like accepting your flaws and imperfections and deciding to love yourself regardless of them.
No matter how old you are it’s never too late to learn new things and grow as a person, and that’s what I want my 21st year of life to be about. I set myself a few resolutions or more changes of how I want to be:
- Be more in the moment; a lot of the time beautiful moments pass as because we are too busy looking at the screen, that’s why if I am out for a day or see something worth sharing I will take a picture/video and then enjoy the moment instead of editing/posting it right away.
- Be more kind to myself and others; you never know what someone is going through and a word of kindness might make their day or make them feel better about themselves, and I’ve added myself too because a lot of the time the voice in our head is our biggest critic whether it’s about the work I produce or my looks, I don’t remember the last time I thought ‘you’ve done this well’ or ‘I’m proud of myself’ that’s why I decided to be kinder to myself.
- Be more understanding; it’s pretty similar to the previous one but it’s really easy to be stubborn about how you see things, that’s why I will try to be more understanding and see things from other people’s perspective.
- Write more! It’s something that I love doing but I find hard to find time to do, that’s why I will try to dedicate more time into doing it.
- Say it as it is! Let’s be honest a lot of situations in life (or at least my life) occur because I don’t say things how they are, I have a tendency of pretending that everything is fine or sugarcoating things that’s why I will try to say it as it is more.
Now onto the second part of my post about my birthday weekend away (and for the nosey ones I’ve added a few pictures below!). I had an amazing stay at the Orestone Manor in Devon. Isolated in the country side, surrounded by trees, makes it a perfect place for a getaway and that’s exactly what I wanted for my 21st as those who know me know that I’m not a huge fan of clubbing and laying in a hot tub with a glass of champagne is defiantly much more ‘me’.
The interior is modern with a hint of vintage ,which is exactly what I love and it makes it very ascetically pleasing to photograph. The view from the window isn’t disappointing either as you see a lot of green scenery which reminds you why it’s sometimes good to ditch your phone and escape to the countryside.
I didn’t take any pictures of the dinner because I simply forgot, definitely not because it didn’t look good because it did. The atmosphere was amazing and the staff was lovely as they attended to you promptly but at the same time left you in peace to eat your dinner, the only con I would say is that if you’re vegan/vegetarian your options will be limited but I really enjoyed my vegetarian option.
There was lots of breakfast options so there was pretty much something for everyone! Again the service was amazing and there was an option of the breakfast being brought over to the room at your desired time, which of course I choose as it’s my birthday so why the hell not right?
Loved this balcony with this super cute table set, shame that it was raining in the morning so we couldn’t eat our breakfast there.
To summarise I had lots of fun and would definitely go again, but saying that I probably won’t because the world is so big and I still have millions of other places on my bucket list I would like to see. This post ended up being a bit longer than usual so if you got this far, give yourself a pat on the back (jokes aside I appreciate it a lot!) and are any other cancer babies here? How old are you going to be and how are you planning to spend your birthday? I would love to hear about it in the comment section below!
