Being a late bloomer has a bad wrap and I intend to change that. Sometimes you need to take the scenic route. Not enough credit is given to those who march to the beat of their own drum. I am a late bloomer, not in maturity, intellect, or cup size. But rather in finding the way to the best version of yourself.

I have always lived in my own little world. An incessantly cheerful being, I realized I was not only drawn to all things creative but also born to create very early on. My dreams were interpreted as actual options. I couldn’t see why I had to make myself be someone I wasn’t, so I have always been myself. Unknowingly, I carved out my twenties and used them to truly figure out this thing called life. While most of my peers where sending out wedding invites and picking baby names, I was living and learning. Life experience is underrated. At age 21, I moved from Orlando to Miami and started a music career. I recorded a full-length album and performed it live with my band across the south of Florida. I loved and lost. I welcomed the sun after a long night of dancing and painting the town red. I lived it up and loved it.

And then… I turned 30.

I had moved back to my hometown of Orlando, and I was the incredibly upgraded version of myself. I was smarter, wiser, stronger, better, faster and sharper. I knew I would never date the wrong guy again because I had already done that. I put a leash on my hopeless romantic tendencies and merged my wants with my needs. I started to pick the right jobs and make the right friends. I got tired of the nightlife and started enjoying other simple pleasures in life. I grew up. I even got an Amex. And I love it.

At 31, I am single, childless and completing my college degree. And just when I started to think I may have missed the boat… some of my friends got divorced. Some even after having their first child. Lots of them got married so young and never really got passed that YOLO stage of their lives. So now, they need a babysitter and a designated driver. They have gone backwards. They look at single me and think “She’s so boring, why doesn’t she want to party all night long?”

My answer is simple.

While everyone was getting married and having babies and rushing life, I took all those pressures away from myself and just lived. I am in no way whatsoever against young love. My brother married his high school sweetheart and they are still the most adorable loving couple ever. The difference is, the didn’t rush to make their lives happen or try to beat the clock. They fell in love. Organically. They couldn’t wait to be man and wife for all the right reasons. And 14 years later, they lived happily ever after.

My journey may not be the same as everyone else’s but these were the cards I was dealt and I wouldn’t trade them for anything in the world. So here are my top five perks of being a late bloomer:

1. I will not marry the wrong boy. I will marry the right man. Because now I know the difference.

2. I will not keep the wrong company. I will nurture only those friendships I know to be true and lasting.

3. I will not be carelessly impulsive. I will think before I speak, act, purchase, kiss, agree, disagree, dye and cut.

4. I will not place unwarranted value on the perception others may have of me or my life choices. I will respond to the age old question “Do you have a boyfriend?” with “How is your alcohol problem?”

5. I will not resist age. I will act my age because it and I are both awesome and too old for setting the bar low.

Thank you for visiting my blog! Hope to see you again soon!

Cheers,

VA