Why 25 is the Age to Seize the Day

I sat on the deck, fingers wrapped around my coffee mug with the map of the globe on it, feeling enticed by the destinations before me. In the background, the waves crashed in a hypnotic rhythm as they hit the fine crushed pink sand of the Bermuda shores of my island home. In my head, I found myself wandering all over the globe.

I turned 25 this year, and I’ve come to some big realizations. I’ve reflected on my younger years, my choices, and the consequences of my action, however big or small. My biggest realization was that this is my time to seize the day.

I want to live, and by live I mean, eat, sleep, and breathe the things I love.

I always knew that the 9-to-5 lifestyle bored me to the bone. Though I’m a night owl, I’ve never been happy missing out on my days. I want to live, and by live I mean, eat, sleep, and breathe the things I love. A lot of the people I grew up with have turned to jobs in reinsurance, or now work as underwriters, accountants, and brokers. Bermuda has a strong international business sector, and whilst I applaud their efforts, I don’t see myself sitting at a desk in some stuffy office with a boss lecturing me on meetings and statistics. Been there, done that.

Instead, I want plane rides and exotic locations. I wanted mountain hiking and scuba diving. I don’t want a retirement fund telling me my early retirement date is January 2046. I want to enjoy life now while I’m young–before the endangered animals go extinct, before any more nuclear reactors or oil spills kill our oceans off, before our landfills are overloaded with the waste from those working 9-to-5 jobs to pay for the newest products that will impress people they don’t even like.

When I was 16, I thought I knew everything. When I was 18, I thought life wasn’t fair. When I turned 20, I thought money would be the root of all of my issues and that if I worked enough hours, my life would become perfect.

Guess what I learned? Money doesn’t fix anything. It has the illusion of being the answer to all of life’s problems, but I still didn’t find happiness because of it.

Seize the day because the only person who can bring you the happiness you desire is yourself.

Instead, I found joy in taking in the views of nature in its realest state, breathing in the fresh sweet air in different countries all over the world, sleeping on floors of airports in transit, watching cities turn to ant hills from my window seats high above and eventually disappear when I entered the clouds.

I found my cloud nine, and it’s travel. I’m 25, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life. I’m not saying travel will bring everyone happiness (though I wouldn’t be surprised if it did). But 25 is a good age to reflect, a time to review what you’ve done so far as an adult, to take into consideration the choices you’ve made and how you like the outcome.

Are you where you want to be? if not, don’t hold yourself back any longer. Seize the day because the only person who can bring you the happiness you desire is yourself. You don’t want to end up middle-aged looking back with regret at the would-haves/could-haves/should-haves. Bring your dreams to life one step at a time. If I can do it, anyone can.

Photo credit by Unsplash.