If you haven’t already seen it, go check out my Instagram for my week of birthday giveaways! Make sure to turn on your post notifications so that you don’t miss out on my posts because I will be posting giveaways this whole week!

Five years ago, I would have never known that I would be in Greenville, married to a medical school student, and with a blog. It’s funny, the journeys that life brings you. To celebrate today, I am sharing 25 things that I have learned in my 25 years. I hope that some of these resonate with you guys today :)

1. Love Yourself – I’ve come a long way from being that chubby little middle school girl with glasses wanting to impress everybody. Now I’ve come to embrace who I am (and I LOVE IT) and am more focused on my happiness than with impressing everybody else.
2. Don’t Apologize for Your Confidence – As a woman, I know that my confidence can be taken in a negative light. I’ve learned never to apologize for it but rather to embrace it and utilize it. 
3. Fight for What’s Right – I’ve come to a point where I am passionate and will and can stand up for myself if I believe justice needs to be served. After graduating college, reality hit me hard and I was faced with some realities I had never had to face before. I came out stronger because of these experiences. 
4. Fries Are Always a Good Idea – Joe asked me one day if I would go on a diet for the success of my career and I said NO. I’m a firm believer in enjoying life especially when it comes to enjoying life with food. 
5. Moisturizer is a Beautiful Thing – Now that I’m 25 skincare has inched its way up to my top priorities. Moisturize night and day ladies, you will see a difference!
6. Being Late is Never a Good Idea – I can’t ever think of an instance of when a good thing happened because I was late to something. Timeliness has been an important lesson I’ve learned AND am still learning! 
7. The Ones Who Matter will Stay – I’ve lost and gained a lot of friends over the years. The ones who have stayed are the ones who encourage me, love me, and are always cheering me on. Those are the people who matter and the ones you should keep around. 
8. Being Married is the Best – 25 brings the first year of being married. When you meet your soulmate and best friend life truly does become the BEST! Marriage has been my favorite journey so far. 
9. Keep an Open Mind – there have been many instances when people have proven my judgment of their character wrong. Don’t judge a book by its cover. 
10. Be Generous – I believe that we were created to be generous, to help others, and to focus on somebody other than ourselves. 
11. Don’t Let Someone’s Disapproval Change You – Don’t let what people think about your passions and your interests stop you from doing it. You like what you like and you are the way you are because that is the way God created you! You are uniquely you and you don’t need to change for nobody! 
12. Save – make big financial goals, stray from materialism and go towards the things in life that will fulfill you in other ways. 

1. If You Want Something, Make it Known – don’t have your close friends or your husband play the guessing game about what you want. Just make it clear, men need this and I know my man appreciates it! 
2. Take Care of Your Body – exercise, eat well and try to get enough sleep. Your body and mental health will thank you. 
3. Go the Extra Mile – whenever you can. Whether it’s at work, with a friend, with your personal life, etc, you won’t ever regret it. 
4. Wash Your Sheets Regularly – there’s nothing like slipping under freshly washed sheets at night. You’ll get the best night of sleep EVER. 
5. There’s no Shame in Looking for a Sale – being wise and frugal with your money is never a bad thing. Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise. 
6. It Never Hurts to Ask
7. You Can Accomplish Your Dreams – If you have something you want to accomplish, you CAN do it. You are your biggest enemy, surround yourself with 110% supporters and go towards that goal! 
8. Stocking Your Seasoning Inventory is Always a Good Idea – learn to season your food. You’ll thank me later. 
9. Don’t Waste Your Time Complaining – just find a solution. 
10. Having a Support Network is a Good Idea – you’re never in anything alone. Take advantage of your support network when you need to. 
11. Don’t Let Your Pride Get in the Way
12. Wear Sunscreen
13. There’s Always Room for Improvement