Today is my birthday, and I will blow 29 candles. Twenty-nine. Holy moly! Also, this is the official first post on this new digital space for me. For the 2022 male standards (per western societies), I am very different, which I adore. Also, because I love celebrating my birthday. I am a December baby (Sagittarius sun & moon + Capricorn rising, for my astrology folks), that’s my month, my celebratory month, and oh boy, I do love a good time!
Every birthday is magical and comes with its ups and downs. And thus far my twenties have been a rollercoaster, and to me, a beautiful one. Now that I’m hitting the tender age of 29, writing a quite long but also an extended reflection on how my twenties have been sounds sweet on the day I open the last chapter of the craziest decade of human life (or so people say, you know). Something I used to do on an old blog I had was to post something on this very special day for me while it was active.
My 20th and 21st birthdays were not that memorable, since I was still attending college at that time, and as well working for a call center. That job taught me a lot as a person and as a professional, it’s an experience that I cherish and my only regret is staying in that particular industry for too damn long. Also, I shouldn’t complain as much, because that full-time job helped pay my college tuition (I put in about a third of my monthly salary on tuition, and my parents contributed with the remaining) which was quite pricey for local standards back then (and still is today). Turning 22, for me, wasn’t as memorable as Taylor Swift puts it in her homonymous song from the 2010s. In my experience, it really wasn’t. And by that age, I was a recent college grad, and then tip-toed into the digital marketing world… which was the most horrible job I ever had.
Back to my old but quite an unapologetic blog, it was active from when I was 22 all the way to 25, and well… I was awkwardly but very openly sharing my thoughts and feelings at the time on various different topics with the entire internet because that’s part of the magic of having a blog. Isn’t it? Also, I would always make an opportunity for my favorite day of the year (December 13th) to recap on what happened the last year, reflect on how things are standing at that particular moment and time, and celebrate the life I get to enjoy.
Like, I was coming from a very terrible job experience, and in the middle of a somewhat less horrible one, I celebrated my 23rd birthday by getting injured during my little hurrah that evening. Yikes! On the post, I uploaded that day on that old blog, there’s no mention of any of that, but hey, I didn’t ask to get hurt that day. Then, a year later, I was living the time of my life pursuing my studies in the United States. And I really talked about it then. Also, here’s a quote from that particular entry that I still carry with me all these years later: “I celebrate life and its shenanigans. Just expect the unexpected. Trust me when I say this and I’m now living proof of it. Believe in yourself, and things come when you really least expect them”.
Then, when I turned 25 everything would change. Everything. As my experience in the US was coming to an end the following summer, at that point and time, I had no idea what I would do next. Four years later, after I completed my Master’s degree, fulfilled an internship in Washington D.C., moved back to my home country, got an okay job, survived the pandemic, got a job in the public sector, and so many other changes both personally and professionally speaking… I am still there.
Today, I turn 29, and I’m not far away from the position I was in when I was 25, with its differences, honestly, there’s been much growth in the process, but that’s how I’ve been feeling lately. Personally, there are a lot of aspects of myself that need work. A lot of work, to say the least. I am aware that loads of help are needed on getting better on some of those aspects, taking a step to get to fix them scares me a lot, but then the time to act and fix my life is preferably now. Speaking of my professional life, I’m doing great, we can say. I must admit that working for the government gives me long-term status and an experience of a lifetime. I’m truly passionate about other things in life, like Eurovision or reality television (content about those will soon be arriving on this blog), but I also really like helping people on my own terms. This experience has given me room for growth and a better understanding of the complexities of how government works in a developing country like the Dominican Republic. For the moment, things might be a little slow, but once we ring in the new year, lots of changes will come.
Damn dude, I will be turning 30 next December. What the heck have I done with my life?
While I try to find answers to that question, today I will celebrate myself, my life, the people around me, my little family (aka my parents and I), and the fact that I’m still here living, breathing, thriving, and enjoying as much as life lets me. Here’s to 29 years of rocking every December!
To close this post, please enjoy the song I consider the anthem of my life: “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield (in a newly released 2022 acoustic version).