I promised myself I wasn’t going to do one of those posts but you know what, fuck it. Today I turned 25 & I wrote something, read it (pls).

A couple days ago I was sat wondering why 25 mattered so much as a milestone. What is it about the number that is so special? I guess it’s because you’re a quarter of the way to 100, an important number in human society. But it doesn’t necessarily signify a quarter of the way to life or anything for that matter. What if instead of 100 the important number was 80, would we then celebrate the age 20 as we do 25, And why does no-one ever celebrate 75, is it because there’s not much life left after that? Who knows, but that’s besides the point. I’m going to use this point of significance to reflect on my 25 years of life so far.

Recently I’ve been thinking about who I was as a kid, what I wanted to be & whether that kid would be proud of me at present. I’ve also been asking my friends similar questions in which we’ve had some interesting conversations.

As a kid there were a lot of things that I wanted to change about myself that I now appreciate as an adult. I was a nerd who lived on the edge of the cool kids, trying to do everything in his power to be part of the in group but failing miserably. I was shy, I read an incredible amount (to the point that I’d be reading in lessons) & I was too nice. You can imagine how all of these traits went down in a secondary school essentially classed as the worst school in London, the literal definition of The School of Hard Knocks. I understood the long term benefits of being a nerd & keeping on the straight and narrow but I didn’t want anything more than to be one of those guys, what we’d now class in London slang as the wavey dons.

But looking back now I wouldn’t have changed one single thing about who I was because it has made me who I am today. That little kid was right in everything he was doing. Those negative things that weren’t beneficial to my social life as a kid have translated to be things I value now as an adult. In the real world there is nothing wrong with being nice, it makes it a better place and it helps when trying to persuade someone to see your way. The insane curiosity for reading & learning that I still have now, has made grasping new concepts easier & every so often something I’ve read in the past becomes of benefit in my working life. If I wasn’t that kid back then I don’t think I would have as much drive to want to work as hard now.

I was one of those kids that wanted to be a millionaire in their 20s and although I am not there yet (just £999,999 away!). I know that kid would still be immensely proud of who he became. A confident, healthy & ambitious young man with a great group of people around him who he can look to for inspiration, support, banter & more. A man who is content with where he’s at & what he’s done, yet always striving every day to do better. So if I was able to go back in time like Bill & Ted in their excellent adventure, I would say to young Clints “Don’t worry bout it sweetheart”.

Another reflection I’ve made when thinking about my 25 years of life so far is that I actually don’t know what I want anymore, there seems to be no direct or certain goal. When I was a kid I always had some sort of yardstick to aim for, 9 year old me wanted to be an entrepreneur (no joke check my yearbook lol) & 17 year old me wanted to be a lawyer, but from here onwards I’m unsure. Throughout education you’re sold the dream of getting to uni, getting that job & then what’s next, living happily ever after? No-one really speaks about it (or not that I know of), there are no more prescriptions, you’re on your own, in the Wild Wild West of adulthood.

I don’t know what the future will hold but what I can say is that I am excited and I am ready, because life is short and I am certainly going to make the most of it.

And maybe I’ll start writing more again, who knows, I do what I want.

I hope you enjoyed this short post, I would love for you to use this as an opportunity to reflect on your childhood.

What was your goal as a kid?

Would young you be happy with what present you has become?

Do you even care?

Did you enjoy reading this post? It would mean the world to me if you shared it if you did.

Thanks to Veds for editing and reading my initial draft.