Hi hello from my 10-year-ago post. I wanted to update this for myself, to see where I am now and celebrate my 35th birthday with another little ramble. Yes, your girl turned 35 last May 7, 2026. Whew. Thirty-five.
And honestly, my thirties have been so much kinder to me compared to my twenties. Damn, my twenties really put me through it hahaha.
If you’ve been following me all these years, you’d know birthdays used to make me anxious. But this year felt different. This year felt soft. Peaceful. Full.
I got to celebrate with the people I love most, especially my girlfriend and her family. I may not have been with my own family this year because plane fares were ridiculously expensive, but despite that, it was still one of the happiest birthdays I’ve had in a long time.
Celebrating me and my 35 years of yapping hahaha.
Before we continue with the little life update, here’s the original post from 10 years ago if you want to see 25-year-old me being dramatic, hopeful, anxious, and slightly chaotic hahaha.
👉 Read my old “Road to 25” post here
Honestly, reading it again feels like opening a tiny time capsule of a version of myself who had no idea what was coming next.
So… let’s revisit the checklist from my old “Road to 25” post.
✔ Get an elephant tattoo from The Little Prince
Finally got it. Still one of my favorite tattoos to this day.
✔ Party hard one night
I actually did this multiple times hahaha. No regrets. Some stories are better left untold.
✔ Be debt-free
This one makes me emotional, honestly. I finally have a healthy relationship with money now. I’m more mindful, calmer, and less impulsive than I used to be. Huge thanks to my financial advisor, Anj (message me if you want to know more about her services), for helping me get my life together financially. Younger me would be so proud.
As for the things I still haven’t done like enrolling in the gym, joining a marathon, going skinny dipping, getting a piercing, or painting my 35 years of existence… maybe this is the year, maybe not hahaha. But I’ve learned that life isn’t really a race of unfinished checklists.
At 25, I thought happiness looked like chasing everything all at once.
At 35, happiness looks more like slow mornings, coffee, beach walks, random fishing trips, quiet nights with people I love, and finally not feeling the need to prove myself to everyone.
I used to think success meant having more. More things. More validation. More achievements.
But somewhere along the way, especially after moving away from the city and slowing down a little, something inside me changed. These days I crave peace more than pressure.
And maybe that’s the best gift I could’ve given myself after surviving my twenties.
To my younger self who wrote that old post ten years ago: you made it. Not perfectly, not gracefully all the time, but you made it.
And honestly, life turned out softer than we expected.