27 Things About Being 27.

One of my favorite YouTubers (okay, I'll admit, the only one that I actually watch at all.), Hannah Hart, posts a video every year about turning her new age. I did something similar last year, although I called it "Reflections on 25" and it was a written out thing, not a video. And this year I decided to follow her format more closely and write out a list of 27 things about being 27. (Which means that I jumped over 26. Whatever.)

1.  The money you spend paying for your own health insurance is worth the peace of mind to not worry that every sore throat you have is strep that you won't be able to get medical help with because you don't have health insurance. 
2. Listen to the bands that your friends tell you they think you'll like. They know what music you already like and are probably right. 
3. Also, the thing about music is that it's really easy to like all sorts of things. So if lots of people like it already, you probably will too. Stop being such a hipster and just accept that.
4. With that said, it is okay to still hate Justin Beiber.
5. It is also okay that you really really like that one Chance the Rapper song he's in.
6. A desktop happy light is your winter bff. Remember that next year. 
7. You haven't really learned to be careful what things you put your email into on the internet. You have been getting both pro- and anti- Trump emails for about a year now, and if one more person asks you to give Trump's campaign money, you might scream.
8. You like poetry. A lot. In college, you thought that maybe you didn't but you were wrong. You just didn't like boring poetry. And that's okay.
9. Despite what you feared based on your extreme extroversion, living alone is not the worst thing in the world.
10. It isn't, however, the best thing in the world, either. For you, anyway. But you've adjusted. You  spend a lot more time reading books now. Which is pretty great, actually.
11. You are in a book club for the first time in your life. And despite it getting off to a rather rocky (six months delayed) start, it is really wonderful. You love hanging out with a group of intelligent young women, and this is the first opportunity you've had to do that since...college. Talking about books is cool, too.
12. Your ideal sleeping temperature is 50°, which previously seemed abominably cold to you—  you know from experience because that's how cold your bedrooms were in 2014-2016, too— but for whatever reason starting in 2017, it really worked for you. And now you have a terrible time sleeping if it's 60° or warmer.
13. You have realized there is a reason people go out for drinks with their coworkers; it is fun. If you have the chance, you should definitely do that.
14. In fact, unless there is a reason you really and truly can't do something, you should do it. You never know what you might end up liking. And it's usually the things you didn't do that you regret more. 
15. You wash your dishes on the same day that you used them and have discovered that when you do that, they don't ever get overwhelming. (And yes, it took you 27 years to figure this out. You are aware that that is an embarrassingly long amount of time.)
16. You live within an hour of several great colleges. Colleges have events that are open to the public. Colleges have good events that are open to the public. Take advantage of them.
17. Two things that make you feel like you have your shit together are wearing lipstick and wearing perfume. The difference between the two (other than that one is seen and one is smelled) is that it takes you five minutes to put on lipstick (sometimes more!!) and only five seconds to put on perfume. 
18. Eating dinner alone at the table feels sort of pathetic, but if you add tapered candles it gets much much better. Which seems ridiculous but it's true. It's also a better alternative than simply eating on the couch or in bed (as you have most days for the past several years) because you don't want to feel silly eating at the table alone.
19. For the first time this year, you considered joining a gym. You didn't do it yet, because you have a little more self respect than that still. But you consider it every couple of weeks anyway. 
20. If it is warm enough for you to wear a jean jacket (or, better yet, SHORTS!), it is warm enough to go for a walk. Go for a damn walk. You'll thank me later.
21. The saying "out of sight out of mind" is TRUE. If you really want to do/make/get to something, leave it out where you can see it. Otherwise it might never happen.
22. The same is true for things that you don't want to do/make/get to- if seeing it around is making you feel bad, then put it out of sight. That might mean you just have to suck it up and deal with something you don't want to. If so, then do that. Because it is better to just deal with something than to let it make you feel shitty indefinitely. 
23. People seem to really like when you mail them little notes. You should do that more.
24. Comparison is the thief of joy. But really. Comparison is the thief of joy.
25. You can do anything! This year you climbed mountains for the first time in years! And you did it alone for the first time EVER! Nothing can stop you!
26. You realized this year that you think your toenails look creepy when they're painted. Previously in your life, you realized that your toenails look creepy when they aren't painted. This will probably change again, and that is okay. 
27. You have conversations with people whom you think of as "your age" during which you realize that they are currently experiencing something in their life that you experienced several years ago now. During these conversations, you will realize that despite the fact that you feel like you haven't really grown up or gotten your shit together that much, 27 is actually very different from 23 in some ways. 

This morning I was planning to get up and do the puzzle my sister gave me for Valentine's Day/ my birthday (it's a bunch of pictures of me and Mackenzie and it's great!), but then I decided that what I really wanted to do was go to Rockland and get a partly caffeinated beverage at my favorite coffee shop, so that's what I did. And I'm oh so glad that I did, because it was beautiful and sunny over there! And I got to drive for an hour each direction with my moon roof open, singing along with some of my favorite songs and I wasn't even cold and it was just really really great.

Today I also got a haircut! It's something that I try to do on my birthday when possible because, as my college roommate tweeted a few years ago, "Everybody I know is getting engaged or having kids and I just wish I could pay for a haircut." Or something to that effect, anyway. And I realized that she was right; when you get a haircut you sort of feel like you have your shit together. Or at least I do, anyway. And then, while I lived in Minnesota, my friend Sarah got her hair cut the day before her birthday and I was like, "Of course! What a great way to make yourself feel like a million bucks for your birthday!" Assuming your haircut isn't awful. But I've never had a haircut that I hated, so whatever.

Anyway, here's my birthday haircut!

Later, I'm buying myself a bacon cheeseburger in a bun made out of mac and cheese patties from Nosh and then I'm going to see Brett Dennen in concert. Because YOLO.

Hope you all have a lovely day, too! Remember, there are only eleven days until spring! We're gonna make it!!