a few weeks ago i turned 26, and my life is both everything (and nothing) like i thought it would be.

i very distinctly remember being a teenager and thinking that by the time i was 25, i would have it all figured out.
i’d be married.
i’d have a career i was passionate about, preferrably in the legal or journalism industries.
i’d own my own home.
i’d have traveled extensively overseas.
i’d be interested in things like good wine, thought-provoking novels, serious tv shows and home decorating.
i’d have money in the bank.
i’d have a wardrobe of quality clothing, each piece selected with purpose.
basically, i thought i’d have my shit together.

but that’s not even close to where my life is at right now.
i’m not married.
i’ve traveled to just one place overseas and on the next opportunity i get to travel, i’m going back there.
i’m interested in home decorating… but still don’t drink, love trashy novels and teen fiction, video games and my idea of good tv is a post-apolcalyptic drama or game of thrones.
i have some money in the bank – but not as much as i’d like.
my wardrobe is… well. i have more clothes than i’ll ever need and yet none of them seem to match.
i do have a house, though.
well… actually, i have the promise of a house in months to come.

i’m actually okay with that, though.

when i was 15, there was no way that i could’ve predicted the life experiences i would have had by the time i was 25; i’m certain that if i had, i would’ve spent the next ten years hiding under the bed.

it’s those life experiences that have shaped and changed me, almost completely derailing the idea of who i thought i would be now.

the great news? i like the person i am now.

becoming comfortable in your own skin is one of life’s hardest lessons and i’m lucky – i’ve learned it early.

i’m a 26 year old that’s a child at heart.
i love the same pop-punk music i loved at 16, interspersed with lady gaga and some regular top-40 tracks.
i love books more than ever and am delighted when i get to tell people my house will have a fully-stocked library when it’s built.
i love clothes. not because i feel a need to look a certain way, but because it allows me to express myself and my moods.
i love video games and got a nintendo ds for my most recent birthday.
i love my family, even when i want to hate them.
i love food – both the healthy kind, and the kind that makes you have a heart attack just looking at it.
i love to sleep.
i’m a little quirky – and i’m so okay with that.

i’m 26 and would have no idea how to change the spare tyre on my car.
i can’t iron. full-stop.
i hate sweeping, mopping and dusting… but am completely okay with scrubbing bathrooms.
i love to cook and bake but make a terrible mess doing so.
i try to remember to make my bed every morning.
i forget to pay my phone bill on time a lot.
i have purchased 1000 thread count sheets for my new house.
i have no idea how to get utilities connected.
i’ve never lived out of home.
i still need my mum when i’m sick or fight with my boyfriend.
i’m committed to driving manual for the rest of my life.
i can grocery shop like nobody’s business.
i have a wardrobe that is partly hung and pressed and beautiful folded… and partly a tangled mess on the floor of my boyfriend’s apartment.
i have no debt, other than my home loan.
i’d love to spend most of my days curled up in bed with a good book.

i’m not what you’d call a proper adult… but i get by.

when my mother was my age, she was full grown up. she owned her own home. she’d never paid a bill late in her life. she was working a stable job in a career she was good at, for a company she’d worked for since she was 18. she was probably very good at things like laundry and kept her house really clean and knew how to mow the lawn.

sometimes, it scares me that i’m not capable of all that just yet.

and other times, i realise – it’s fine.

i’m fine.

i’m comfortable with who i am, where i’m at and where i’m headed.

i’ve got clear goals for what i want out of my life for the next 1, 5 and 10 years… and i’m comfortable with the fact that i won’t achieve all of what i set out to do.

i’m not worried about the things i don’t know how to do, the information i don’t have or the people i haven’t met yet.

i just treat each day as a fresh start and a chance to do something better today than i did yesterday.

and most of all… i’m happy.