25 Things to Do Before You Turn 25

So it almost is my 25th birthday, or as I like to tell people I’ll be turning 23 for the third time.

I did a bit of a photoshoot just around my house as my little way of celebrating.

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I wrote this post a year ago on 25 things to do before you turn 25. You can read it here:

25 Things to Do Before You Turn 25

I’m going to give you a bit of a life update on that post to see if I did all 25 things before I turned 25.

1. Graduate College or Start a Career

I graduated from my undergraduate studies, now I’m moving on to my graduate studies. If all goes well I should be graduating in a year from December.

2. Go on a road trip with friends

If a 7 hour road trip with my husband counts then yes I have been on a road trip with my best friend.

3. Vote

I had the opportunity this past fall to vote in the presidential election!

4. Do Something Spontaneous

I’m sure I’ve done several spontaneous things, but I have yet to get my dream tattoos. (Probably won’t happen before I turn 25.)

I would get this tattoo on my right arm just below the elbow. It is a reminder to me that when I am overwhelmed, I can look to God.

And then I would get this tattoo right below my left elbow. The verse is Ecclesiastes 4:12 that says a three stranded cord is not easily broken, and it is shaped in a triangle for God and my husband and me.

4. Go Camping

Been there done that, got the T-Shirt several times.

5. Finish a TV Series

My husband and I watched through all seasons of Once Upon a Time even though the story line is pretty much the same every season.

6. Try Sushi (Or really any unusual food)

In the past year, my husband had convinced me to try shrimp. . .I know that’s not too unusual, but it is for me.

7. Ride a Roller Coaster

Oh boy. . .this one might be my biggest regret. . .haha once my youth group went to an amusement park. . .There was one ride in particular that went out slow, and came back in slow. . .so from the outside, it didn’t look bad. . .we got to the ride, and one of the girls I was with told me that it wasn’t going to be that bad. . .well the ride slowly went to the top, and then it fell and it wasn’t like a nice fun ride, it fell to the point it was like going to fall out of the sky (It didn’t but I mean. . ) So that is the only really large roller coaster I ever found myself on. . .is it something I would do again? Probably.

8. Buy a Car or an Important Purchase

I feel like I have made a lot of important purchases in the past year, and I still have my car.

9. Go on a Zip Line

This was so much fun, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

10. Be in a Meaningful Relationship

Over the past year, I got a lot closer to my husband. He is my best friend. 10/10 recommend marriage.

11. Save Money

This is a lot harder now that I am in graduate school, but we always make it a point to save some of our paychecks.

12. Talk To Strangers

This is something I wish I was better at. Over the past year, after I moved in with my husband, I haven’t really had the opportunity to make many friends. I could blame Covid for that which definitely makes things difficult, but I haven’t found a good way to make adult friends. (If anyone is good at this please comment below and give me some advice haha).

13. Find Out Why You Believe What You Believe

This is a hard one. Over the past year I have been struggling to find my place as a Christian. I’m still struggling with this, but I am in a better place than I was a year ago.

14. Go on a Missions Trip

I’ve been on five missions trips in the past, but I haven’t been on one in almost 10 years. I would love to go on another one. I’m hoping that my husband and I can go on one next summer after Covid dies down a bit.

15. Leave the Country

Still haven’t had a chance to leave the country. I’m going to blame Covid for this one again, but I really hope that if my husband and I do get to go on a missions trip we do get to go to another country.

16. Learn to Forget

This might be the hardest one. Finding healthy ways to move on from things that hurt you. I definitely am still struggling with this, but I am finding healthy ways to heal.

17. Develop Some Healthy Habits

I still try to drink 8 glasses of water and go on 30 minute walks everyday.

18. Go to on a Formal Event

Was forced to go to some in college. . .I wouldn’t choose to go again.

19. Learn to Drive a Stick

This has been a goal of mine since I’ve learned to drive, although I probably will never ever use this skill even if I learned it.

20. Go To a Concert

I watched an online King and Country concert does that count? I know it’s not the same, but it was a lot of fun. I would love to go to an in-person concert as Covid restrictions are lifting.

21. Learn a New Language

Yeah, I’ve been slacking on my Spanish. . .with school work I don’t have as much time to practice. I still watch videos in Spanish to help me learn.

22. Develop an Unusual Talent

Well I don’t know if this is unusual, but in the past year I have learned to play guitar. I’m by no means a pro, but I have a lot of fun.

23. Cut Your Hair. . .Yourself

I did this once, but would never do it again. I think I would change this goal to get your hair cut in a way you would not normally. After this summer (because I have like 4 weddings this summer and don’t completely want to ruin my hair) I’m going to try a new hairstyle so we’ll see how that goes.

24. Find a Hobby That You Could Make Money Off Of

I still LOVE photography and would love to start a business, but still don’t know how to. Maybe in the future you know after I finish grad school.

25. Learn to Like Yourself

Still working on this one. I think I am getting better than I was last year. I took the pictures above because I wanted some pictures where I looked good, I think they turned out well.

So there you have a little update on 25 things to do before you turn 25. Can you think of anything I can add to the list?

Writing Goals

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

One goal of mine has always been to get a book published.

Lately since the school year ended, I have a little more time to achieve that goal (a little more time, not really a lot more time)

I had an idea for a book a while back. I honestly believe God gave me this idea.

So that is one of my major summer projects. (That and about a hundred other things haha)

I haven’t really wrote a book in a while. The last time I did it was for a nanowrimo project.

I had a really good time writing that book, and quarantine gave me plenty of editing time, but I haven’t just written anything for fun in a little while.

So here’s to summer, and to my new writing adventure. We’ll see how it goes.

If any of you out there are authors and have some amazing writing advice please list it below. I need all the help I can get.

A Christian’s Response to Pride Month

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So June is pride month which you probably already know if you watch TV or scroll through Facebook.

I remember when I was in high school. My church youth group went on a missions trip to New York City. The week we went happened to be pride week. There were parades, and other events going on that week for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

I do believe that our youth leaders were trying to protect us, but they told us to not talk to these people as they likely didn’t want to hear about God.

This is something I never really imagined happening near me, but last fall there was a church that was meeting outside in a park due to COVID restrictions. I’m not connected with this church, and don’t know the situation, but there were people protesting this church.

There were people holding signs similar to the one in the picture and protesting how Christians were treating homosexuals.

Like I said, I don’t know the situation so I don’t know if this was a particular event that occurred with this church, but it kind of broke my heart.

For the longest time, I felt like I didn’t belong in a church. I feel like I’ve messed up so bad that if anyone knew anything about me they would kick me out of church.

No one should ever feel like they don’t belong in church or to God.

It bothers me that a lot of Christians look to homosexuality as the worst sin.

Like a lot of Christians act like you can get a divorce or cheat on your spouse, but if you are a homosexual God won’t forgive you.

That’s definitely not true.

Jesus died for everyone, and everyone is a sinner. So why can’t a lot of Christians welcome everyone like Jesus did?

I’ve prayed about it for a while as I have had friends who came out as gay or bi. I have a hard time understanding why loving someone is so bad, but I can’t argue with what the Bible says.

It definitely is not my place to judge anyone. I don’t know what God has brought them through or how God has convicted them. It’s not my place to convict them, it is my place to show them God’s love.

I think that pride month can be a chance for Christians to take some time in prayer. Pray for people in the LGBTQ+ community and show God’s love to them.

Show them God’s love that will never fail. No matter who you love, human love is going to fail. Marriage can be difficult at times, but God’s love never will fail.

God invented perfect love, and maybe if more Christians took time to love people like Jesus did, maybe people would be more open to hearing about salvation.

If you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community and have been hurt by a church or a Christian. I’m so sorry. God’s love will never fail. God welcomes all. You are loved.

The Next Step

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Last night I asked my husband if we could leave the country. He laughed a bit and said, “not right now.” (He didn’t say no though)

I put this picture of the world up because the world is a big place. There are millions of people that I will never meet. This picture is a bit of a reminder that my dreams aren’t impossible.

I’ve always wanted to be an ESL teacher (preferably in a Spanish speaking country) but the world is big. . .certainly there is something out there that I’m supposed to do.

Today was a rather sad day. . .it was my last official day of work at my job.

I remember being a recent college graduate looking for a job and seemingly randomly getting this job that would come to mean so much to me.

I worked at a school for two years, and these kids made me laugh everyday and challenged me in ways I didn’t know was possible.

They will never know it, but they are the only reason I had the courage to apply to graduate school.

I never would have gotten where I am today if it was not for them.

Early this year, I felt God calling me to leave this job for a lot of reasons.

That is always a scary thing. . .God calls you to leave something that is safe and do something that maybe isn’t so safe.

The problem is. . .I once again don’t really know what that next step is.

I had a summer job lined up, that kinda fell through last minute, and now the only thing I have is a few interviews.

I have plans next fall for my student teaching, and then substitute teaching in county schools, but I honestly don’t know if the substitute position will work out.

There is so much that I don’t know and it’s kinda driving me crazy.

My ever supportive husband tells me that sometimes it is ok not to have everything figured out and I know that he is right.

Sometimes that’s just part of trusting God. . .(Not always an easy part of being a Christian)

So I don’t really know what God has for me next, but I hold on to the fact that God holds good things from people to give them something better.

I don’t really know if God will ever ask me to leave the country, but right now I’m just taking the next step.