Yay on being 25, I guess?

It happened. It actually happened. The day I was afraid of for quite some time was my birthday in January 2015. You are probably asking yourselves right now, why on earth was she afraid of her birthday? Well, let me explain.

Turning 25 years is a big deal, when you are still in college. At lot of changes will happen by turning that specific age. In the country I come from, parents and children get child benefit from the state. First, you get that until your child is 18 years old. Then, you have to prove to the state that your kid is still in school, college, or training for a job in order to still get paid child benefit. Nevertheless, once you turn 25 child, benefit stops. And it does not matter if you are still in college or in job training. Furthermore, until the age of 25 and if you are still in school, college, or job training, the child or young adult is still insured with the parents. Hence, after turning 25, one has to insure oneself. Overall, when turning 25, child benefit is done and you have to insure yourself. As you see, turning 25 is pretty expensive. And I have never used that number so many times before.

Anyway, there is a lot of happening and a lot of changes, especially when it comes to money. For the past few months, I have been searching for the cheapest health insurance. Most of the insurance companies have a special student installment. Hence, it is a lot cheaper that regular installments. But still, it is a lot of money for a student with an only 400€ income every month.

Aside from the financial side of turning 25, the number itself kind of scared the hell out of me. One is actually closer to the big 3 0 than before. And what did I do so far? I graduated school. I got a Bachelor Degree. I am currently enrolled in a Master Degree program, from which I hopefully will graduate 2016. But I have not really done anything. I never had a job that paid more than 400€ every month. I still live at home. And what the hell am I going to do after I graduate with a Master Degree? Is there somebody out there who will hire me? Besides from these obvious points, some 25 year old people are already married with at least one kid. My biological clock is not slowing down. THESE were my concerns and anxieties of this huge birthday. For some people turning 25 is no big deal. It is like every other birthday. But for me it was a big deal.

Almost a month has passed now, and I kind of accepted the fact that I am 25 years old now. And I can proudly say that I am comfortable with that number. Sure, there are the financial changes, but people who know me know that I had them on my radar for quite a while and that I calculated them into my monthly expenses. And for my anxieties, I accepted them, too. And I came to the conclusion, that I already achieved many things. And I should be proud of them, which I am. Being 25 is not as bad as it sounds, I am still young and I still have many, many years ahead of me. I will find my way somehow. I guess, sometimes one has some freak-outs, especially when one reaches a birthday milestone. For me, it was turning 25.

What I learned through all of this, is that you are never too old to do or achieve anything. Being 25 is not as bad as it sounds sometimes. It actually feels good. Celebrating my birthday with my family and later with my friends helped a lot to be okay with that number. And it is no big deal anymore.