A few weeks ago, I turned 27, and it's taken me a while to grasp what's happening in my life. Almost everyone goes through mini existential crises on their birthdays, reflecting on the past year and their accomplishments. As I sat down for this reflection, I got a bit perplexed. At 27, I'm not where I expected to be, so close to thirty but far from my goals. But if I were closer to those goals, I wouldn't enjoy life as I am.

The first six months of this year were tough. I constantly faced the sabotaging side of my inner voice, let's call it Lorenza. It made me question my entire life, regardless of my decisions, which was painful. I realized that much of the "suffering" I experienced was self-inflicted.

It's strange to recognize how much power we have to decide on our happiness, but it's true—it's up to us.

Growing up and finding happiness: that's our responsibility.

Waking up every morning with joy: that's our responsibility.

Making the most of what we have, suffering, or falling in love: that's our responsibility.

Enjoying our work, nurturing creativity, staying healthy, and being surrounded by positive people: that's our responsibility.

And most of all, loving ourselves—it's all up to us.

This list might feel overwhelming, but it's up to us to make the best of life. The way I see it—and after putting a lot of thought into it (and pointless suffering)— I realized that it’s up to us to take life by the horns. Growing up, enjoying our lives, and taking responsibility for our choices and actions and how they impact our daily life is entirely up to us.

Blaming the bad and the ugly on external factors is easy, but let's try being positive, happier, and patient. Our lives become simpler when we do. I won't sugarcoat it; it takes effort because, at the end of the day, that’s life: working, learning, and always going forward. 

A few months ago, I was sadly insecure, I didn’t like my body, job, or life, and I didn’t appreciate my dream life. It is so easy to question ourselves when a situation is uncomfortable. Still, once you force yourself to keep going forward and you make it to the other side (because you will), you’ll realize how much time you lost complaining, how, at the end of the day, life will keep going with or without you, and how stimulating the process is. Most of all, we have an extremely beautiful chance to be here. Our existence is not a coincidence; it’s cosmical and meaningful.

We came to this world to make it better, to learn, to leave a mark: as small or big as we want.

So if for a minute we stop, we take a breath, and we appreciate life by putting our problems into perspective, then we will realize how unimaginably lucky we are to be here. And if we have to go through a few existential crises to realize it, isn’t it worth it? Because the most unique gift we’ve been given is making our own choices and learning from our mistakes in the process.

So— and I don’t say this lightly—just be fucking happy and enjoy the ride. Because this life is short, why not make it sweet and beautiful?

With much love and a touch more maturity,

Lo🦋