Nobody Likes You When You’re 23 is a blink-182 song! EVERYONE loves you when you’re 23 – and all other ages.

I know I’m a couple of days late on this, but my birthday was earlier this month, October 3rd! Last year, I did a 22 Designers Thing Wishlist because I was going through a designer phase where I wanted designer things for everything. I’m, unfortunately, still on that ‘designer phase’ but it has toned down a bit.

Not exactly sure where I’m heading with this blog post. I know that I’m not going to write out ’23 things I learned in 23 years’. There are just so many things to write out and to reflect on.

My 23rd Birthday

Consider this blog post an update on how my life is going. This will serve for next year, my 24th birthday, so I can see how things have changed or not changed. I would say there was a drastic difference in my mindset from turning 21 to 22 and not so much 22 to 23. Now looking back, I wish I had written something on my blog regarding my 20th birthday and 21st birthday. While I was searching through old previous blog posts, I realize that I never actually sit down and mindlessly write.

I try to create valuable content that would be universally useful regardless of when the post was being shared. However, I should have a balance and start writing things just for me.

5 Things that Happened While I was 22

• At 22, I started my ‘actual‘ career. I went from beginning an intern at a consultant firm to a part-time marketing coordinator. Basically embarking my corporate life job, haha. I love working in an office setting and wearing business casual. In addition, I also fell in love with negotiating.
• To go off on the previous point, another thing I love is empowering women to step up in their career. I know I’m still learning and don’t have that much life experience to offer, but I want to serve as a mentor to others whether it be in their career, academics, or any aspect of their life. Loved this TED Talk video by Sheryl Sandberg “Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders”.
• I got a breast augmentation and even decided to document my Boob Job Journey. Prior to my breast augmentation, I was researching about boob jobs like CRAZY. I have watched countless YouTube videos trying to educate myself as much as possible before the procedure. Seeing how much research I was doing, I wanted to contribute my experience to others out there, thus creating my series! Every time I get a message from a reader telling me that they found my blog posts helpful, I feel very thankful.
• I traveled a LOT this year. Earlier this year, I fell deeply in love with New York City – the energy there and all the possible opportunities. I’m hoping to move there after I finish my undergrad, but I’m so comfortable with how my current life situation is right now that I’m not sure if I want to leave. Besides New York, I also visited San Francisco and Denver!
• There are so many other things I did while I was 22 that I want to mention in this little bullet list. Other things include: reading more books, interviewing women in STEM – which I want to interview MORE people. This next upcoming year, there will be so much more content coming out and I’m so excited.

What I Have Learned in the Past Couple of Months

A couple of things I learn in the past few months are people come and go, and you just need to accept that. For me, I have such a hard time allowing things out of my control to actually happen. I try to hold on to something so much that at the end of the day, I have to ask myself if it’s worth it. Why do I need this? I’m trying to keep this as vague as possible, but trust me that it’s not just about romantic relationships.

Another thing I realize that sometimes what the media portrays is not always accurate. I know this is pretty common sense, but there are so many opinions out there. There were times when I feel as if my opinions are not valid because it doesn’t concur with everyone else’s. Does this make sense? To further clarify, let’s say everyone I see on social media agrees with point A, but I agree with point B. I’m left feeling like an imbecile or something because I don’t agree with point A. What I’m trying to get at is that everyone’s opinions matter and it’s valid. You don’t need anyone else’s validation.

What I Did For My Birthday

Before I end this, I want to write down a couple of things that happened for my birthday so I don’t ever forget. The weekend before my birthday, my mom came up to Phoenix to visit me from Tucson. We went to the bar that I’ve been wanting to go for a while and there was a small arcade. I love my mom so much and seeing her get into the arcade game makes my heart warm. The next day, I took my mom to TopGolf since she always wanted to learn how to play golf. I couldn’t really help her much with teaching her how to play, but it was okay. She had a fun time.

The day before my birthday, my coworkers at work all sang happy birthday to me. We ate some cake and it was a good time. The office did not have any birthday candles, so we lit a scented candle instead. Probably better that way since blowing out candles on a cake is not really sanitary at all.

Then ending my actual birthday, this guy who I have been seeing for a while took me out to my favorite steakhouse in Arizona – Steak44. YUMMY. I got the bone-in ribeye with asparagus, mushrooms, and Corn Creme Brulee. Ugh, I already want to go back even though it’s been less than a week since I was there.

The celebration does not stop there! I am getting dinner with my CEO and department at work next week, which I am so excited about. I love my work, my colleagues, my supervisor, and my CEO. They’re all so amazing. I will also be reaching out to friends I haven’t seen in a while to grab lunch or dinner and catch up. With so much going on in life, it’s important to always reach out to friends and catch up with them.

That Concludes This Blog Post

Thank you, everyone, who read this blog post. Here’s to many more years!