Turning 26... A Reflection Of Achieving Lots And Being Chronically Single

I remember when I started my blog almost 10 years ago, and I thought I'd blog regularly for the rest of my life. It was my identity and I couldn't see another path for myself other than blogging and writing. And while I now write for a living, my blog has been neglected and that makes me beyond sad. But I guess, that's just what happens when you get older – things change, alter and nothing is how it used to be. 

So yeah, hiya! It's been a while, and as I type this, I've been 26 for almost an entire month. I celebrated my birthday by spending time with my mum and going back to my old hometown of Eastbourne, a place I love and miss a lot. See, I spent most of my teenage years on the Sunshine Coast and I really miss it these days. Living in London is incredible, but there's something about the quiet seaside town I resided in that this big old city hasn't got. So, it was lovely to celebrate my 26th in a way special to me. I was also showered with love by my mum – who is also my best friend might I add – with her even stitching all of my old t-shirts together over a long period time to make a beautiful memory blanket. It was such a joyous day and week, but the weeks since have proved to be eye-opening and somewhat strange... after all, there's nothing like realising you've now well and truly surpassed being a quarter of a century. 

So much has happened in the past year, from 25 to 26, and I've grown so much as a person – but some things are still the same as they always have been, while being nothing like they were. Being in your twenties is a huge contradiction of being young and old simultaneously, and it's hard to see through the tunnel of being a twenty something. I'm immensely proud of myself and my achievements, and my career is truly flourishing. I have a good job and I genuinely LOVE what I do... I couldn't see me doing anything else to be honest. I have hopes for progression and I'm extremely happy with how the Universe is guiding me with my career and overall life in general. But my love life is just as non-existent as it was when I was 6 or 16, and coming to terms with being a virgin and a chronically single 26-year-old is incredibly difficult – even for someone as sure as themselves as me.

While I'm not fazed by my virginity or the fact I'm single and always have been, I won't lie and say it's not on my mind. And as a hopeless romantic – who has had a couple of 'proper almost' situations, it's frustrating, heartbreaking and confusing all at once. I kind of dreamed that by now I'd be in love, in a stable relationship, and looking to the future, but instead everyone around me is happy, in love, married, engaged, welcoming babies and buying houses. It's hard to be in the rut that I am, but finding solace in my single-ness is at the top of my list, so I'm trying hard not to worry about it.. which is proving to be a little difficult thanks to the stigma of being single, childless and a virgin when you're nearing your thirties.

But when that tiny fraction of my life – the being single and never having had sex part – is shoved to the side, I'm truly living a wonderful life. The life I'm living now is the life I dreamed of 10 years ago when I was 16 and desperate to work for a newspaper and write about fashion. Back in November 2020 (THREE YEARS NEXT MONTH), I started freelancing in Journalism while completing my degree. I then landed freelance shifts at a national paper, the Daily Star, before singing consecutive six month contracts with them on their incredible showbiz desk. I'm now working on an up and coming US site with The Mirror and their incredible US Showbiz desk. I am seriously so grateful for my life and everything in it – from my mum to my cat, my warm and safe flat, to my wardrobe packed with beautiful clothes, my job, my income, and my kind heart. 

To think that back in 2015 my mum and I were faced with homelessness is crazy. I'll never get over how grateful I am to be living the life I am at 26, with my dream career in the works and everything else that I have. 

So, while I'm sad that I'm 26 and my life hasn't progressed in ways that other people's lives my age have, I'm blessed and grateful to live the life I do and am. I know that the Universe is guiding me in the right direction, I know it's got my back, and I know that my life is going exactly as it's meant to go. 

After all, I guess turning 26 isn't that bad... and I guess you could say I'm ready for the next beautiful and magical chapter to unfold.. all 11 months of what''s left of it at least.