Turning 25 — What I learned through my 20's

Image credit — https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1200/1*Bfe1SGRgNZgcroWOzPsHTw.jpeg

When I was younger I found it harder to make friends since, as a teen, I was very closed‑in due to bullying — and no, bullying does not make you grow stronger like some people claim; most of the time it causes the opposite problem, making me more closed‑in and, I guess, weaker than I am now.

It took time to build myself up after graduating, and being at university developed not just my skills but also my confidence. I was able to force myself out of my comfort zone in a safe space, make mistakes, and still have access to further guidance. I found confidence a lot easier to embrace than constantly worrying about others, because what other people thought was none of my business, and as long as I was not harming myself or anyone else, why should what I did matter?

I started doing what I wanted, such as adding pins and keychains from games and shows I love to my bag. Being out of university is a tough experience for anyone, especially in this environment where the job market is as broken and difficult as ever, with people constantly applying for jobs — particularly in the creative industries, which is what I wanted to enter as a writer, especially since I had just finished studying scriptwriting.

The university had helped me, but once I was out, I realised that I now had to find my guidance through life and plan what I wanted to do to move forward. The set goal was no longer graduating; it was chasing a bigger dream. However, being in a creative field, I was left to find my path on how to get there. I found that footing by starting small and then moving up. I knew it was important to stay in the present and focus on where I was at in that current state.

Constantly looking to the future can make you feel lost and does not help you improve where you need to go next. It’s important to take things one step at a time. For my generation — and as I grew up — it was harder to find hope, especially with not only what was happening in the world but also during some tough personal times I went through in my twenties. It wasn’t easy; however, through my adventures and progress, I was able to ground myself in the current moment.

After university, I felt so lost: that goal I was pushing towards was gone, and without some of my friends around, I had to find ways to make new friends and discover social events on my own. Being with my boyfriend and involved in the Eurovision community was something that helped keep me together in the toughest of times.

It’s about learning that darker periods are not around forever, and I learned from Loreen when she talked about how painful moments can help us grow even more than the good ones. That was true for me because I grew most from both the painful moments and the good ones as well.

Grief is hard for anyone, especially when it mainly hits during adulthood. This was the hardest lesson to deal with, since grief can affect different people in many different ways. In my case, it tends to hit pretty hard and last very long. Dealing with that fear and finding understanding is still something I’m learning, but my maturity as an adult has helped me fight through it.

The seven stages of grief are never really in order, which is what I learned going through this tough process. I also had amazing people who helped carry me through the grief, and I learned that talking to others can help both me and others more easily handle this process.

“Bereavement has a medical cost: it’s linked to higher blood pressure, shorter lives, depression and sleeping problems,” said Toni Miles, Professor at the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health, and this shows the many medical and physical consequences of grief.

Having anxiety can lead to easily beating myself up over even the smallest infraction — things that wouldn’t affect the other person or hadn’t done much damage. This meant that something going wrong for me could spiral into something bigger, affecting not only my mental health but also my overall energy. I also learned that it was okay to stumble and fall from time to time, and that even big mistakes do not mean the end of the world, and that I can always get up again, whether they are big or small.

People will hate and push you down no matter what, and I experienced that at many points in my life, so I learned how to reflect healthily on my mistakes while also acknowledging the positive aspects of my actions so it doesn’t start to affect my mental health and so I can grow from both mistakes and successes.

Being 25 felt so surreal, time had gone so quickly; however, it allowed me to look back on how I had improved and matured into adulthood, especially after I had graduated. I hope that in my thirties, I can look back on being 25 and see even more improvements than I do now.

I have made a foothold within my writing journey through the failures I was able to recover from and continue moving forward. I have only gone up during 2024 and 2025, and I am excited to see where I will go not only as a Eurovision journalist but also through my wider creative work as well.