They say with age comes wisdom, do you believe that? I find myself constantly asking others for validation, confirmation, and clarification. This past Friday I celebrate my 29th birthday! I honestly cannot say I have been through a lot, or endeavored crazy traumatic things. But I can truly say I have been very blessed with a wonderful support system in every aspect in my life. Many of you know that I am a mom to a 9 year old boy. He’s great, but being a teen mom forces you to grow up and that is exactly what I had to do. Growing up at a young age doesn’t mean that you are all of a sudden some mature kind of adult, OH NO, it means we have to grow up and we miss life lessons and experience but gain different ones at a younger age.

Now it's time to reflect, it is time to set future goals. I want to share 29 things I have learned about life, myself, and what has made me who I am today.

1.  Family is EVERYTHING

Cherish your family, it's the only family you have.

2. Friends COME & GO

“Friends” really do come and go, and just know that some friendships are seasonal. Cherish the friendships that do not judge. The friends that even if you don’t talk to for weeks or months, you can keep up where you left off. Don’t stress about friendships that take up a lot of work. Friendship should not be complicated nor stressful.

3. Your MOM should be your BEST FRIEND!

Maybe because I am a momma’s girl or maybe because my mom has been my backbone but your mom knows you better than anyone does. Mom’s get a 6th sense or something and they JUST KNOW.

4. TEETH - Take care of them!

I know, this is random, but I am quite obsessed with my teeth and although it may seem like common sense to take care of them, not everyone does. Brush your teeth 2-3 times a day, use whitening toothpaste from time to time. If you know me, you know this is legit a real thing.

5. Be PROUD of your CULTURE

Growing up, I never realized how important culture was / is. Now more than ever our children here in the United States some kids are not so in touch with their culture. I am very guilty of not teaching Elijah about Salvadorean traditions, foods, and culture earlier. BE PROUD of who you came from and where you came from!

6. It’s OK to step out of your comfort zone

As you get older you realize you aren’t getting any younger and trying something out of your comfort zone is OK! If it wasn’t work stepping out of my comfort zone I wouldn’t be writing this for y’all to read.

7. Coffee is life saver

This is self explanatory , I run off of coffee!

8.Hangovers after your early 20’s ARE NO JOKE

I don’t even like drinking anymore because the 48 hour hangover that follows IS NOT WORTH IT! “Hey 21 year olds, enjoy this time because it goes by quickly!”

9. Everyone is and doesn’t have to like you, & IT’S OKAY

Hey, you are human and everyone isn’t going to like you and that is OK! There are over 7 billion people in this world, if someone doesn’t like you, don’t sweat it, the other 6,999,999,999 will!

10. Relationships don’t come easy

Relationships are not easy, but they are rewarding and worth it when you are with the right person.

11. My love language is QUALITY TIME

This ties in with # 10 “Relationships aren’t easy” knowing your love language definitely helps tremendously in relationships. I recommend the book “5 Love Languages” by Gary Chapman

12. I care about appearance more than i should

The older I am getting, the more I realize that I really do care about my appearance more than I claim I do. I get my lashes done religiously, I make sure that my hair is in the most perfect messy bun and I am dressed to impress no matter what. This is not at all an issue, but it is something I have to admit to myself, because I try to act like, “oh it’s no big deal” but in reality it is.

13. I enjoy to work

I sometimes think what it would be like to be a stay at home mom but I truly do enjoy going to work and having that time away from life and learning new things. Not to mention that having a job has it’s perks like consistent pay and health insurance.

14. I am a cry baby

I cry, A LOT. Once I cried because I saw the cutest bunny shaped cake and I thought it was the cutest thing…. (In case you are wondering, it was the time of the month)

15. I take things way too serious

You may always see me laughing and smiling, but I take things a little TOO serious. I do feel like a little up tight at times and I need to loosen up!

16. I let little things bother me

I get told a lot by those who know me very well, if you cannot do anything about it, do not let it bother you. This is something that I REALLY need to work on because focusing on something you cannot control will take over you and you will not be happy.

17. I stress horribly

when I stress about something, I REALLY stress about it, it consumes my mind and I cannot sleep. I toss and turn and think about what is stressing me out.

18. Yoga is heaven sent

I don’t practice yoga like I used to, and that is a plan of mines to get back into, but yoga literally makes me calm, positive, happy person.

19. i like school

I stress when I am in school but the semesters I have taken off I feel like I am missing something. I like school.

20. a child did not give me patience

They say when you have a kid, you get more patience….. Well if anything I have less patience. I have been blessed with a really great son because even though he isn’t perfect, he knows when to get his stuff together so his mom doesn’t lose her sh!*

21. I want more kids

WHOA, Did I just admit that? After Elijah, I swore up and down I did not want any more kids. He was such a good baby and he is literally the easiest kid that I couldn’t imagine getting lucky twice, but as time goes by I can see myself having another child. NO TIME SOON, but I can envision it.

22. WIshing i could do more as a mom

Elijah is getting older and I often wish I could do more, join the PTA, go have lunch with him weekly, take him to all his baseball and soccer practices. I often feel like I don’t do enough. I work, I work A LOT, I work full time, I have my photography business, AND I am in school. I know this will pay off in the long haul, but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to do more.

23. i love to party plan

I live for party planning, I do turn into party-zilla, but this is something I am honestly REALLY passionate about!

24. Photography will always be a part of me

I have been “PattyPics” for more than 6 years and I don’t see myself stopping for a VERY long time.

25. I am short tempered

I get mad quick, I react before I can think things through. This is something I am REALLY working on because 5 minutes later I feel so bad about how I reacted.

26. Life takes time

I have so many wants and plans in life, but life takes time. We cannot expect to get everything we want right away. We have to be patient, and work hard for it.

27. i search for validation

I do so much and sometimes I feel like it goes unnoticed and I often find myself wanting and needing validation. I am going to work on doing things proudly, and being happy with my own results FOR ME.

28. I procrastinate …….. a lot

This is self explanatory, I always say, I am going to edit pictures or study for something on a certain day and I end up doing what I “planned” the day of. I really need to get it together! :)

Are you still with me? I know this was quite long, but if you made it to # 29, THANK YOU, and even if you didn’t, I still thank you! Blogging is a new journey I have started and I have met so many influential, empowering, awesome people. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me!

29. i am happy with my imperfect life

Stressing, validation, lack of patience, procrastinator, even with all of these flaws, I am happy with where I am in life. I am not where I thought I would be, but I everyday I am one step closer.

October 1st, I will be sharing Halloween and fall events for kids and adults! Make sure to subscribe so you can stay up to date with the latest blog posts and Houston events!