I should have been Greek

One of my favorite times of the year finally happened, Honolulu Greek Festival! I can't even remember how long I've been going, it's been that long.  Usually we try to go to both days but as I've gotten older, I treat my mama to the second day.  I had to work one of the two days this year so my mom and I went on opening day, my treat.  This year was just as great, not to mention delicious.  Over the years we've learned that on the first day you get there super early in order to make it into the pastry line first.  Those suckers sell out by the first couple of hours.  This year we stoked up on pastries up to my eyeballs.  Baklava, chocolate baklava, kataifi, koulourakai, and sooo much more.  It was a good call because by 3:30 (festival opens at noon) half of it was sold out.   

After we pretty much single-handedly bought out the pastries we headed to the greek kitchen section to feast.  I got the spanakopita plate which included greek salad, feta cheese and bread, olives, rice pilaf, dolmathes, and a piece of baklava.  I also got an extra piece of spanakopita because it's my favorite and just so damn good.  My mom shared the plate with me but got her own piece of spanakopita and a piece of moussaka, her favorite.  We found seats near the main stage where we got a great seat in the shade under the trees and watched the live greek band, Apollo, perform.  We lucked out that some of the festival volunteers from the Greek Church danced to traditional songs.  

About an hour later we decided to muster up the energy to get up (and not explode) and walk around.  I always love visiting the booth that a local jewelry store, Artlines, sets up.  I usually find a bracelet or ring that I like but this year I found a sick bell bell chime that I couldn't pass up.  It was so hot that day so to cool off we shared a bowl of lemon sorbet.  Before we called it a day, I picked up a gyro for dinner and a greek sausage and pita bread for my mom.  Overall, another great festival and a very satisfied Kiyana.     

25 things to do before you turn 25

1. Make peace with your parents. Whether you finally recognize that they actually have your best interests in mind or you forgive them for being flawed human beings, you can’t happily enter adulthood with that familial brand of resentment.

2. Kiss someone you think is out of your league; kiss models and med students and entrepreneurs with part-time lives in Dubai and don’t worry about if they’re going to call you afterward.

3. Minimize your passivity.

4. Work a service job to gain some understanding of how tipping works, how to keep your cool around assholes, how a few kind words can change someone’s day.

5. Recognize freedom as a 5:30 a.m. trip to the diner with a bunch of strangers you’ve just met.

6. Try not to beat yourself up over having obtained a ‘useless’ Bachelor’s Degree. Debt is hell, and things didn’t pan out quite like you expected, but you did get to go to college, and having a degree isn’t the worst thing in the world to have. We will figure this mess out, I think, probably; the point is you’re not worth less just because there hasn’t been an immediate pay off for going to school. Be patient, work with what you have, and remember that a lot of us are in this together.

7. If you’re employed in any capacity, open a savings account. You never know when you might be unemployed or in desperate need of getting away for a few days. Even $10 a week is $520 more a year than you would’ve had otherwise.

8. Make a habit of going outside, enjoying the light, relearning your friends, forgetting the internet.

9. Go on a 4-day, brunch-fueled bender.

10. Start a relationship with your crush by telling them that you want them. Directly. Like, look them in the face and say it to them. Say, I want you. I want to be with you.

11. Learn to say ‘no’ — to yourself. Don’t keep wearing high heels if you hate them; don’t keep smoking if you’re disgusted by the way you smell the morning after; stop wasting entire days on your couch if you’re going to complain about missing the sun.

12. Take time to revisit the places that made you who you are: the apartment you grew up in, your middle school, your hometown. These places may or may not be here forever; you definitely won’t be.

13. Find a hobby that makes being alone feel lovely and empowering and like something to look forward to.

14. Think you know yourself until you meet someone better than you.

15. Forget who you are, what your priorities are, and how a person should be.

16. Identify your fears and instead of letting them dictate your every move, find and talk to people who have overcome them. Don’t settle for experiencing .000002% of what the world has to offer because you’re afraid of getting on a plane.

17. Make a habit of cleaning up and letting go. Just because it fit at one point doesn’t mean you need to keep it forever — whether ‘it’ is your favorite pair of pants or your ex.

18. Stop hating yourself.

19. Go out and watch that movie, read that book, listen to that band you already lied about watching, reading, listening to.

20. Take advantage of health insurance while you have it.

21. Make a habit of telling people how you feel, whether it means writing a gushing fan-girl email to someone whose work you love or telling your boss why you deserve a raise.

22. Date someone who says, “I love you” first.

23. Leave the country under the premise of “finding yourself.” This will be unsuccessful. Places do not change people. Instead, do a lot of solo drinking, read a lot of books, have sex in dirty hostels, and come home when you start to miss it.

24. Suck it up and buy a Macbook Pro.

25. Quit that job that’s making you miserable, end the relationship that makes you act like a lunatic, lose the friend whose sole purpose in life is making you feel like you’re perpetually on the verge of vomiting. You’re young, you’re resilient, there are other jobs and relationships and friends if you’re patient and open.

I was scrolling through my dash on my tumblr and came across this post through my friend Lindsey.  I think everyone should take this list with them and work to accomplish each thing.  Whoever compiled this is a genius.