Turning 21 - Supposed To Be Fun?

Twenty-one! Big number, huh?

Or so we tell ourselves.

Somehow it’s that one birthday most of us secretly wait for — maybe it’s the sound of finally being legal, or maybe the idea of finally feeling like an adult (even though technically you’ve been one for years).

I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but I’ve never given as much of a shit about turning a certain age until now — 21.

This one just felt real.

Some voice inside my head kept whispering,“Shit! You’re growing up, little bitch.”

And honestly, life around me was moving at 2x speed.

My parents were growing older, my friends were getting actual jobs, my cousins were getting married and starting new families — and there I was, stuck in med school, still crying over attendance and trying not to fail my profs.

It felt like one of those movie scenes where you’re standing still while everything around you moves in fast-forward.

It made me… anxious.

So I did what I do best — Plan. List. Plot.

(Then most probably do nothing about it.)

My birthday’s in October, so I had like ten months to “glow up” before 21.

Spoiler alert: looking back, I don’t think I’ve achieved most of it — if any 😭.

But here’s what I wanted for myself:

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My “Goals”:

→ Be more mindful of my thoughts & actions

→ Surround myself only with people and things that beam positivity

→ Get disciplined, stop procrastinating — you know, stop just planning big things and actually do them (honestly, this needs its own post because I’ve self-sabotaged like a pro 💀)

→ Work on my physical health — get in shape (funny, because if you know me, you know I’d die for food. I even thought of starting a food blog once… and damn, imagine if I actually had 😭)

→ Finish what I start — passion or not, just finish

→ Stop being late to literally everything

→ Stop taking people — and their love — for granted

→ Prioritise mental health, invest in self-growth

→ Use my free time for something meaningful — read, learn, create

→ Maybe even earn a little pocket money through some side hustle

→ And most importantly — me-time & family time

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In short (for the lazy readers out there 😌):

I wanted to become that “responsible, self-aware, strong, independent young woman” that turning 21 made me feel like.

Now that I’ve actually turned 21 — I can’t say I’ve achieved all that.

But I did grow.

For better or worse, I learnt a few things.

I learnt my flaws. I learnt who my real people are.

I learnt that planning only gives you a push — if you don’t catch on in time, you fall.

If I’m pushing it, I could say I may even have become a tad bit more responsible 😂

but above all, I learnt that everyone has their own timeline, and turning a certain number doesn’t mean you suddenly have your shit together.

And when I zoom out for a second, I realise —

I’m ONLY 21.

I’m still a kid pretending to have it all figured out.

I’m at that age where I’m allowed to screw up, but also expected to take accountability and grow through it.

That’s the beauty of this age — it’s alarming yet humbling.

It gives you the space to make mistakes but also teaches you to level up.

And maybe that’s what truly makes us the “responsible, self-aware, strong, independent young people” we keep striving to be.

So yeah — that’s the story of my year turning 21.

What’s yours?

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Written by Varsha.B — just another 21-year-old trying to figure out life (and maybe blog about it along the way). ✨