Hang on! I've got a few more months to revel the last year of my twenties. I hang on to my 29th year like a kid hanging on to her rag doll in an airport – anxious that it might be snatched away if her attention is lost for even a minute. 

I was with a friend today and I was saying how it’s strange that I remember turning 23 or 24 and not having a soul comment on my marital status, and suddenly I cross 25 and everyone acts like I have said that I have an orchard growing in my underarms. (Really, that’s the only way I could describe the horror it). 

This had me wondering if I would have been a different person at 30 if I had done some things differently in my 20s. Could I have achieved more? Yes. Would my bank balance have been greater? Perhaps. Would I have been wiser? Maybe not. In what would have been a few seconds I had flashbacks to deciding moment that would have benefitted me today that I hadn't seized – it's no time to regret these decisions, but I can't help but wonder... 

I thought I'd list a few things that you could maybe help you if you are still wheedling in your twenties and want to check if you are on the right track. 

(1) Toxi-Tales: 

If I had one chance to negotiate a point in my life, it would have been not dating Boyfriend 2. To be honest with you, the only reason I did date him was because I wasn’t seeing anyone else. I look back now, and all I see is a waste of three prime years in my twenties. 

Toxic relationships are common to everyone. It’s like those ugly scabs from vaccinations we have on our shoulders. Useful – but you really don’t know for what purpose. 

(2) Zoo…Zoo…Zumba!: 

It’s strange how I had never engaged in any physical activity or exercise until I was 28, and it’s stranger still how I had managed without it. I am happy I found my niche in CrossFit because a ‘lotus' pose is not meant for me; nor do I have the grace to pump, kick, sway during Zumba – I just stop at the ‘kick' because I am out of breath and have the instructor yell, 'Posh, posh, posh' (That's 'push' with an accent and acoustics) 

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(3) Culinary Credit: 

This may be venturing a little beyond a Prima Kottu Mee and eggs as a meal. [Here’s hoping for a husband who cooks] 

(4) Sleep, Beautiful Sleep. 

When I sleep for more than 8 hours, my colleagues claim that I look exhausted. I rationalize saying that my exhaustion died but left its soul behind. 

Whether or not sleep enhances beauty, I don’t know. But, what I do know is that I would have wasted precious time staying awake doing something unproductive (No, Glee, Supernatural, and Modern Family don’t qualify as unproductive) and not getting sufficient amounts of sleep. 

I am almost embarrassed to talk about it but I remember staying up talking to guys I liked at the time until 3 AM. What have I got now as memorabilia for these times? Crow’s feet deftly around my eyes! 

Binge sleeping is not the same as restful, healing sleep. 

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(5) Nastay Frans: 

Clearly, my twenties lived up to ‘friend for a reason, friend for a season'. It's just as important to guard your hearts against friends as you do from guys. Just yesterday, I was thinking of three ‘seasonals’ who took turns to bid farewell in the most ungracious way in 2013, 2014, and 2015. Lessons well learned. My lesson here is to do my part as a friend, and not worry whether they live up to their end of the deal. This also points back to No. 01 on my list of toxicity. 

(6) Dating Dolores: 

Why couldn't I have uttered a monosyllabic ‘No' when asked out by some El Crudos? Why did I think that if I declined one I would have had seven years of bad luck? Dates are not chain letters; it’s only in ‘doing’ that you lose. You are left to interpret that verb in whichever way choose. 

I think the reason behind agreeing to most dates was because I could not bear to admit that I was undesirable. Oh, if only my nineteen-year-old self could have met me now. 

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(7) Job Hop: 

I wasn’t too attached to the parental units growing up, so, it’s only natural that I never sought their advice in my early twenties. I feel they would have offered sound career advice that I could have used. It took me so many trials to understand that what you are passionate about may not always be what you are skilled at doing. It’s funny how these dawns while you’re mid-way a presentation and you are lost in thoughts for 5 seconds before you could open your mouth. 

(8) Lip-o-suction: 

I need to write an ‘I'm sorry' card to my lips. I didn't realize that looking good had nothing to do with skillful kisser. Dunking my face into a tank with fish food plastered onto my face would have been more gratifying. I would have left intimacy for another time, for another guy. It was not peer pressure, but my inner being questioning my desirability. 

When I do exit my twenties, I know for sure I would be happier to have realized my mistakes before it took further toll – I would like to look at some of the worst relationships as passing showers that only made me stronger. If you are nodding your head in agreement, here’s me raising my glass – er, okay, so my tumbler of Milo to you! 

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I’ve ended 8 instances that were my defining moments! What are your thoughts? Got someone in mind that you’d like to discuss this with? Go ahead and hit the ‘share’ button and compare notes! 

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