WAYUT: 26 things I know & don't know before turning 26

Boo! Listicles! Boo! Hiss!

Tomorrow, I turn 26. That’s 98 in TikTok years.

To commemorate my age, I’ve decided to complete a time-honored, Buzzfeedian tradition of sharing what I do and do not know now that I’m in the latter half of my 20s.

Don’t count on listicles being a new part of my content. This is mostly because I’m in the midst of finals, and the only thing running through my head for the next 8-10 business days is a soft, whistling wind.

Let’s begin.

1. I don’t know what to do with my toothpick after I finish eating an appetizer during a wedding cocktail hour. Put it in my bag? On a table? Every option seems inconvenient and gross.

2. I know to ask my younger cousins “What’s the latest drama at school?” rather than “How’s school?” during the holidays, because it makes for better conversation.

3. I do not have the hair for side bangs. That’s okay.

4. Some people aren’t meant to stay in my life, which I think is stupid.

5. Knowing #4 still makes me sad sometimes, which I also think is stupid.

6. Having feelings is not stupid.

7. I’ll watch hours of TikToks about living in rural, northern Europe and all it gives me is a sense of boundless yearning.

8. I’ve never gracefully gone through airport security.

9. I don’t know why I still use dating apps, but I know I’m gonna keep using them.

10. I feel more awake than I have at any other time in my life. I like that feeling.

11. I used to be so cruel to myself, and I know it’s because I didn’t think there was any other way to do it.

12. I know I was trying my best.

13. I don’t know if I’m on the right career path. (Screenwriter? Seriously?)

14. I know I want to keep going.

15. If I don’t write something down three different times in three different places, I’ll forget it.

16. I have boundaries.

17. I have limits (different than #16).

18. I’m protective of the communities I cultivate.

19. I don’t know if I’m an introvert or an extrovert. Someone read my birth chart and tell me.

20. I don’t know why I think about certain people as if they’ll come back into my life. Do I even want them to? I don’t know. Probably not.

21. I’m good at self-soothing.

22. Being soothed by others is nice sometimes.

23. I don’t know why I keep setting an alarm for 7AM like I’ll magically be a morning person one day. I’m an 11AM-2AM kind of person.

24. I don’t know why people say “High school is the best four years of your life,” or “College is the best four years of your life.” I was holding on for dear life until about two years ago.

25. I love getting older.

26. I want to keep going (different than #14).