Birthday | 23

Yesterday I turned 23. Birthdays are funny little things aren't they? Everyone always asking you 'so..how do you feel being a year older??' Well... I feel exactly the same as I did yesterday or the day before, when I was, as it turns out, a year younger! Getting older & wiser (I hope) is a gradual process, it doesn't happen over night nor does it come with a bright red sign saying 'Hey you, you're now a grown woman'.

22 was one weird, scary & confusing year, but also terribly fun & exciting. This whole early twenties confusion, wild pursuit of identity, wandering like a lost soul is nerve-wracking but somehow an enjoyable, once in a lifetime experience, which I remind myself to savour. 22 was about learning lessons, slowly discovering & accepting the things I love & the things I don't, making big decisions & stepping outside my comfort zone. It was definitely one of those years that shaped me as a person, or added to the shaping of my person, if that even makes sense.

I am really looking forward to what 23 has in store, just like a new year I feel like birthdays can be a new clean slate, looking over the year that has gone & dreaming about the year ahead. I've got plans & dreams coming out of my ears. Now it's just a matter of continuing that adventurous trek outside my warm & cosy comfort zone, taking the path less travelled & all that.

Yesterday I turned 23 & I got reminded of how lucky I am to have beautiful friends & a loving family. Distance has this power to shine light on all of those important people in your life, the ones that are always there, every step of the way on this crazy adventure called life. They are the ones you should hold on tight to, keep close to your heart, they are the good ones.

While I take the time to go through the million photos I took yesterday on my day at the zoo (it was such a beautiful day!), here's a picture of me holding my sweet baby sister on her second birthday, because she's too dang cute & I miss her dearly.. I remember we spent the day by the lake, canoeing, swimming & eating ice cream, it was perfect.