24 at 24 (& little birthday giveaway) 

Good morning everybody. Today’s post is in association with 4th September because today is my birthday. Yay happy birthday to me! Actually, you may be surprised to know that I don’t like my birthday all that much really and we’ll get to that shortly but I felt somewhat obligated to write something today because I think I’ve done that every year since starting my blog. 

I don’t particularly like my birthday for a whole bunch of reasons. The first one, is that I don’t like getting older. Which is a pretty standard worry I guess. I also don’t like fuss and too much attention. I feel bad when people buy me presents and just generally don’t know what to do with the extra spotlight for that one day. But the main thing I don’t like about this day of the year is that it makes me think. It’s makes me think about the age I am and all the stuff I haven’t done yet. All the people who at my age or younger have achieved so much more, been much wider afar and experienced more deeply. It makes me sad and in actual fact I remember spending the night before my 16th birthday sobbing my eyes out in bed.

So, although those thoughts won’t escape me and I’ll probably have a sombre moment or two at some point during the day, I wanted to try and make this post a little different and use it to celebrate and reflect and reminisce about the stuff I have done. Rather than worry about the stuff I haven’t.

So I’ve compiled a list of 24 things I have done, seen, been to or achieved in these first 24 years of my life. Both big and little things because sometimes, the little things count just as much:

1. Danced on stage in a show 
2. Started a business 
3. Been skiing 
4. Got a tattoo 
5. Went to Disneyland (3 times!)
6. Been in a TV studio audience 
7. Had a boating holiday 
8. Went up the Eiffel Tower 
9. Visited France (6 times and one of those included an exchange visit with a French art school!)
10. Had a quote from my book reviews printed in a book (a few times!)
11. Got a dog 
12. Went to a Motorsport event 
13. Created and maintained a successful blog 
14. Visit Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria (twice)
15. And Majorca, Spain and Bulgaria (wanted to group these together)
16. Been surfing / water skiing / rock climbing / abseiling (I felt these should be rounded into one)
17. Been to lots of music gigs (it would literally take me forever to name them all but I do pride myself on how many I’ve been to! But my favorite will always be Green Day, Milton Keynes, 2006)
18. Raised money for charity (over £900 in 2014 for Cancer Research UK!)
19. Learnt to drive 
20. Been swimming in an outdoor pool in the middle of the French Alps, surrounded by snow 
21. Battled and battled anxiety and finally learnt that I am the master of my own mental health
22. Learnt to play the drums
23. Been to the theatre (Blood Brothers, Woman in Black and Wicked)
24. Had the best teenage years I could have ever hoped for

And because it’s my birthday, I wanted to give you guys a little gift. It’s not much but I’m giving away a £5 Amazon gift-card here.

So there we have it: my lil 24 before 24 list. And remember, it’s never, ever too late to start a new adventure.

Giveaway T&C: This giveaway is open internationally and the £5 will be converted into the winner's currency. The giveaway starts on 4th September and ends on the 18th.