In the blink of an eye, we are already midway through 2023. Somewhere between the beginning of the year to the 1st of June, I have:

• Switched jobs.
• Gotten engaged.
• Published my very first book on Amazon (https://amzn.asia/d/7KmlPyP) and Barnes and Noble (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/3-am-musings-upasana-desai/1143219988).
• Started a TikTok account.
• Flown a plane.
• Moved out.

It has been a wild ride and I love it. But no one prepares you for how wild this time period feels. You are at the tail-end of your 20s and your 30s are right around the corner.

So here are some quirky and uncomfortable truths that inevitably happen when you hit that age:

1. You will crave more alone time and value your peace.
2. You will question where your values truly emerge from.
3. Your friend circle will get smaller and you will realize that you love it that way.
4. You will have an identity crisis of some sort.
5. You will realize that your parents were always doing the best they could with what they had.
6. You will constantly feel like you are behind and learn to realize that you are not.
7. Elements of your childhood trauma may start to show in your early adulthood and you will be forced to address it in some form or another.
8. You will realize just how quickly time flies by.
9. You will learn to love and crave routines.
10. You will realize that your job is only one part of your identity.
11. You will go back to that one (or two) childhood activity that made you feel joy. True joy.
12. You will look back at all of those ‘reckless’ moments in your early 20s with a sense of pride knowing you had the guts to do them.
13. You will crave mediocrity and adventure at the same time.
14. Your body will hurt in weird places.
15. You will learn to value your physical and mental health about everything else.
16. You will need roughly two business days to recover from a hangover.
17. You will take on journaling.
18. You will feel this intense urge to find your calling.
19. You will take yourself out on really nice dates.
20. You will probably realise adulthood was a scam and then binge-watch a Netflix show to numb all emotions.
21. You will take up meditation and then quit (before trying again).
22. You will learn to turn inwards for answers.
23. You will have a favourite grocery store and running errands will almost have a therapeutic feel to it.
24. You will get excited over a new vacuum or a random home appliance.
25. You will probably find your first (of many) grey hairs.
26. You will be able to look back and realize why some relationships never worked out.
27. You will learn to give yourself the validation that you always sought from others.
28. You will take the leap of faith and travel solo (if you haven’t already).
29. You will see elements of your parents appear through your mannerisms and either love it or hate it.