27 Things I Learnt At 27

Hey guys,

So, today just so happens to be my twenty-eighth birthday... man, that's a scary realisation! I think I need a little time to get my head around those two digits, especially having lost almost two years of my twenties so far without any control over it. It's insane how quickly time seems to pass these days; the days and years pass by in a blur, and I can never keep up!

I feel that I have learnt a great deal in the past year. I've taken a front seat in a rickety rollercoaster ride, and learnt more about myself, and life along the way, refusing to buckle through every twist and turn. I got to thinking about what I learnt as a twenty-seven year old, and as a change of pace, today I'm here to share some of them with you. Twenty-seven of them, to be precise.

So, here are 27 Things I Learnt At 27

1. Good health is not a right, it's a privilege, and it's true what people say: all you really need to be in life is healthy and happy. Everything else is just a bonus.

2. Most people quickly forget about you when you're down in life.

3. I've discovered who my true friends are, and I can count them on one hand. These ladies mean the world to me, and they're not only great friends, but they've been so caring and supportive of me since I injured my back.

4. Even after seventeen years of friendship, my best friend is still a mate in a million. She's been such a support through my injuries, and goes out of her way to check in and keep me sane, whilst battling her own back pain and providing for her son. I love her so much, and couldn't have made it this far without her.

5. I've learnt how to keep myself busy every day from home so that I don't dwell on my situation too much. I manage to fill each day with blogging, reading, pinning, watching a movie or two, and nail painting

6. The NHS can't be relied on to help you get better. They're more concerned with getting people back to work, than giving treatment and other help to people who need it in order to return to work. Too many medical professionals I've met with also like to use age as an excuse to patronise you and deny particular methods of treatment. If I had a pound for every time somebody said 'you're young...' I'd be a very rich lady.  Just because somebody is young(ish), it doesn't mean they're invincible or any less deserving of medical care!

7. The NHS will not come up with a miracle solution for my back.

8. I don't know whether I'll ever be pain free and fully mobile ever again or not.

9. This country doesn't offer the injured, sick, and disabled support when they need it most. I don't know how ill or injured you need to be to be taken seriously, but it's a joke.

10. People can't understand what they can't see.

11. That moaning and being negative about everything (or anything) is usually pointless. It won't make the situation better , and others don't respond to negativity well... Mostly it's best to look for the good in the bad, and look on the bright side of life.

12. Life is short. Too short. And it shouldn't be wasted. It could all be over in a heart beat.

13. Life is what you make it.

14. What's really important in life, for me.

15. I learnt that sometimes it's right to forgive and forget.

16. I unfortunately discovered how racist people can be. I was horrified to see disgusting racist comments on social media sites after the service man was murdered in London, especially on Facebook from people I thought I knew. It's so uncalled for.

17. I taught myself how to design my blog theme and images, and grasped the basics of HTML codes so I could add buttons and links to my blog. I'm by no means perfect at it, but I am proud of what I create.

18. I realised just how much I love blogging, As the months went by I found myself becoming more and more attached to my little blog, and I admit that now my thoughts are rarely far from it. It's not only helped to raise my body confidence, and self confidence, but it's been a real life line for me during one of the most difficult year's I've ever had to face. It's provided me with a distraction, an outlet, a purpose, and somewhere to express myself with like minded people and talk about subjects I'm passionate about.

19. How passionate I am about plus size fashion, body positivity, and size acceptance. I really do believe everybody should have the right to wear fashionable clothes at any size, and that everybody deserves to be accepted and respected what ever their size or shape.

20. There are some truly lovely, inspiring ladies in the blogging communities, especially all of my lovely readers!

21. To become more body confident, accepting, and comfortable with how I look and who I am, something which I've been struggling with my entire life.

22. I really would still love to work with animals.

23. Watching a family pet deteriorate from cancer is heart breaking.

24. My love for certain bands, albums, and songs will never die.

25. I have a slight nail polish addiction.

26. I'd love to learn how to make things.

27. That anaesthetic injections in to toes hurt like hell.

I could have kept adding to this list, and I'm surprised by how much I've taken in over the last year. I hope I'll continue to learn and grow as a twenty-eight year old, and maybe this time next year I'll have many new musings to share with you.

What's the best lesson you've learnt during the last year?