I remember 2016 like it’s a fever dream. It’s almost cliche to say that it was surreal, but it truly felt like a walking into a haze of new experiences. You go in blindly and hope for the best. It was the year I turned 25, which 15 year old me would have imagined as someone who had her life together (maybe married, even). A few months after turning 25, I came across a post (that is most likely from Thought Catalog and other similar websites) entitled “25 Things You Should Learn by 25”. I can still vividly picture how I reacted to it, as although the list is filled with valid, and yet also vague life suggestions such as –

1. It’s okay to make mistakes
2. Don’t compare yourself to other
3. It’s fine if you don’t have your life figured out yet
4. Traveling broadens your horizons
5. Know your passion
6. Stop giving fucks

Maybe it was because I knew how I don’t tick all the items in that checklist (aside from that red check mark in bold for #3), but I felt like I needed a more realistic (read: also practical) list of things that I needed to know by that age. My list contained

1. The basics in starting your retirement fund
2. Filing for taxes, and making sure that you get any possible tax refunds
3. Doing your own laundry (hand washing your delicates, separating white from colored fabrics, and knowing which bleach to use)
4. Cashing on credit card rebates (and taking advantage of any financial offers to improve your credit rating)
5. Knowing which aspects in your life needs an insurance (which would be everything if you have the funds for it)
6. Know how to cook rice without using a rice cooker (because I’m Asian and we eat rice with every meal haha)
7. Know how to cook something aside from instant meals and rice (because what would you eat rice with, and I see knowing how to feed yourself a life skill)
8. Knowing how to prepare ingredients (because I know people who were privileged enough to never have to prepare their own meals at this age)

..and honestly at that point, my list started turning into a subjective list of food-related things. Last week I turned 27, and felt that I need to apologize to the content creators who make this generic lists because I realized just how hard to make a list that would actually apply to everybody. I guess age does give you perspective. So here’s to hoping that I continuously learn as I age and gain more life experiences, and always becoming a better version of myself! Cheers! 🙂