Today is my 25th birthday. I know to many of you that may not seem old. However, it’s the oldest I’ve ever been, and that is a little bit scary. That is the way of life, though, so I have to choose to embrace getting older rather than focusing on the fear. I’ve encountered many people in the first “quarter” of this adventure who live their lives afraid of getting older. Instead of focusing on learning, growing, and experiencing, they allow themselves to be paralyzed by fear. Today, I decided that I’m not going to be such a person.  I got to thinking about what I’ve learned not only in the past few years of adventuring, but throughout my life.  Old fears have withered and new ones developed. Friends have come and gone. I have cried and I have laughed. It sure has been one hell of a ride, and it isn’t coming to a stop anytime soon. Here’s to 25.

  1. The world can be scary.
  2. The world isn’t so scary.
  3. Birds aren’t so scary.

birds

4.  A good sweat does the body damn good.

5.  You can get arrested for sleeping outside.

6. Sell-by dates mean nothing.

7.  The cold isn’t so bad when you wear warm clothes.

sleepingbear

8.  People are awesome- Couchsurfing, hitch lifts, the random person who says, “Hello”.

9.  I’m not the greatest swimmer.

10.  But I can swim in the ocean.

leah peace
11.  Riding down a mountain on a bicycle is like flying.

12.  Crashing your bicycle is alright.

13.  But not having travel insurance sure is stupid.

leg

14.  Try [almost] everything once.

15.  Spicy food is best when it makes you sweat.

16. I think I was meant to live the Spanish way of life.

sangria
17.  Doing things that make me a little uncomfortable has made me stronger.

cliffsofmoher

18.  Everything will always be OK, until it’s not. Then you can deal with it.

19.  Regret is the one feeling I cannot deal with.

20.  Being hateful towards others is a stupid thing to do.

21.  Live and let live.

22.  Feel a little love everyday.

Locks

23. Life is short.

24. Anything is possible (although it might take planning and time).

25.  You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time.

giantscauseway