The Things I'm Glad about Becoming an Adult

I turned another year older last month but like always, I celebrated it with no fanfare. I only asked my parents to come and visit me, as I made an important milestone in my life. That day in fact, marked my three decades of existence in this world, which also meant that it has been thirty years since my parents welcomed their eldest child, after two years of waiting. I would like to think that it is a milestone for all of us.

I was supposed to write this post before the clock would strike midnight unto my birthday but alas, I was swamped with various affairs in life. So when the mood came to me out of the blue, I readily pound on the keyboard of my laptop in order to manifest into words what has been going inside my mind when I hit the big 3 0.

Unknowingly, I find myself at this point in my life where I now refer the late teens and early twenties as children. Hey, we all reach to this point somehow. Having trudged the journey from being an awkward teen, an assuming young adult and finally to being a full-fledged adult, I realized that there are a few things I am particularly glad of.

1. I am less insecure.

Because I now realize that each of us is different, that my brown skin color is because of the genes passed down to me by my parents and no amount of whitening products can make it lighter. However as a side note, I still strongly believe in sunscreen. But this skin color thing is only a case in point. What I am trying to say is that I normally don't give a damn now about the ideal things, perceived by the majority. I am still putting the less because I am not perfect and I am still a work in progress.

2. I am much more capable in making decisions.

Although I already became independent early on in life, it doesn't mean I made my decisions solely on my own. There was that hardline consideration of what others might say, which sometimes could affect my choices. Being able to set this aside and to have given it less importance, I couldn't be happier.

3. I am braver.

The little victories I have so far in my life give me more courage and most of the time, what has been stopping me all along is only myself. Sure my life is not all roses. I have my equal share of ups and downs but as long as I am given a brand new day, I think it will be such a waste dwelling on bad circumstances without even trying to make things better. As what the song says, what doesn't kill you makes you braver or is it stronger? haha

4. I am more confident.

I can really say that I have come very far for me to reach this level of confidence that I have now. When I was young, I used to be an awkward shy girl and that the mere sight of strangers would have me cocooned back to my shell. It was that worse. But I can only laugh at my old silly self now. I now don't easily get intimidated, except of course if I would be facing the Duchess of Cambridge in person. And being able to travel solo to far away places is something that I am grateful for to my acquired confidence in adulthood.

5. I am more certain in drafting my plans.

Now that I am older, I no longer find it difficult to know what I want. I sometimes disregard the external factors first so that I will know what it is that I really want to achieve. It is a never ending conscious effort for me to be impervious to the lives of others. I always remind myself that each of us has our own journey in life, our own battles to fight, our own defeats to take courage from, and our own victories to celebrate. By knowing what I want, it is only then that I can be truly happy.


As a new leaf turns in my life, I am nothing but hopeful for the wonders that would come. I hope that I can continuously be a better person as I age and I really don't mind the wrinkles and the age spots that will definitely beset me physically. From the good words of Brandon Boyd, "Fault lines should be worn with pride". In the meantime, let me slather liberally my sunscreen. haha