Goodbye, 24.
(Cheers: صحة! (Arabic), Salute! (Italian), Na zdrowie! (Polish), Santé! (French), ¡Salud! (Spanish), Mabuhay! (Tagalog), Prost! (German), 건배! (Korean), 乾杯! (Japanese), चियर्स! (Hindi), Γεια σας! (Greek).
Here’s to 25.
This past year has been one of immense growth—maybe it’s the frontal lobe fully developing, or maybe it’s just life unfolding as it should. My understanding of the world, my compassion for people, and my love for learning have all expanded in ways I never expected. I’ve felt deeply, reflected often, and embraced the beauty of human connection more than ever before.
Whenever I ask people for their best advice, I hear variations of the same wisdom:
“Do it while you can because things change as you get older.”
Or “Just be present, live your life, and remember—it’s all a mindset.”
And my favorite: “Be kind to others, love people, love yourself… maybe then, one day, we might just have peace in the world.”
I can’t count the number of times I’ve shed tears over people—over their words, their stories, their presence, their absence. Over experiences, losses, and memories that linger. But the beauty of being human is connection. We connect with people, cultures, languages, art, music, places, ideas, and even fleeting moments that imprint on us forever. When something resonates with us, when a place feels like home, when a conversation lingers in our thoughts—that is proof of life. Proof that we are evolving, expanding, becoming more complex, more defined, and more open than we were before.
And I realize now—I’m so lucky.
Lucky to have lived a life that makes saying goodbye so hard.
Lucky to have met people who have left imprints on my heart.
Lucky to have experienced places that feel like home, even when they’re miles away.
Until the next time. And I mean that when I say it.
How lucky am I to be surrounded by love in a world that is flawed yet beautiful? A lot like us, right? Imperfect in so many ways, yet still worthy, still valuable, still enough.
We always think the grass is greener somewhere else. We long for different cities, different experiences, different versions of ourselves. Yet in those foreign places, we find familiarity. In those new faces, we find reflections of home. We spend so much time wishing we looked different, comparing ourselves to arbitrary standards, when beauty was never meant to be linear. The same way we admire people who look nothing like us, I promise—someone, somewhere, is admiring you.
A friend once told me:
“Treat people like a mirror, not a statue.”
That stuck with me.
We are all mirrors, reflecting beauty back at each other. If you can recognize beauty in the little things—in a conversation, in a sunset, in the way someone laughs—then I know you have a beautiful soul. Because noticing beauty is an act of presence, and presence is a gift.
Being present.
Right now, I’m on a flight, reflecting on what this new chapter means. 25 feels significant—one of those milestone birthdays that makes you stop and think.
“What am I doing?”
“Where am I going?”
“How can I make my dreams come true?”
“What do I want my life to look like?”
“Is this love? Is this the love I deserve?”
The thoughts spiral, no matter our age. We apply so much pressure on ourselves instead of simply appreciating life—another year, another chance. Not everyone gets that privilege. My dad always says, “Don’t blink, or before you know it, you’ll be 50.” That used to make me laugh when I was younger. But now? Now, I get it.
Life moves fast.
We don’t always realize it until we pause long enough to see.
I am grateful that my life has never felt rushed. I am grateful for the love and stability I’ve known. I recognize not everyone had that privilege, and if you are one of those people—if you had to grow up too soon, if life never gave you a soft place to land—I want you to know: I see you. I admire your strength. You are more powerful than you realize. I hope you never stop believing in yourself, even on the days when the world feels heavy.
So here’s to us.
To all of us—regardless of where we come from, what language we speak, or what path we’ve walked. At the end of the day, we are just humans. Bleeding the same blood, made of the same bones, probably having the same thoughts. We are different, yes. But those differences are beautiful. And beneath them, most of us want the same things:
A good life.
A peaceful life.
To be healthy. To love and be loved. To be surrounded by good people.
And I’ve learned—it’s not always about where you are. Sometimes, it’s just about who you’re with.
To my friends all over the world, thank you for being my home away from home. Traveling has given me the privilege of meeting people so different from me, yet somehow, we find common ground. I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for an open mind, for the lessons I’ve learned, for the way human connection has shaped me. And to my family and friends back home—thank you for loving me in every season, in every version of myself, even the ones I’m still learning to love.
People have chosen to love each other for years, for centuries, for lifetimes. That alone is proof of the beauty in human connection.
So if you read this—thank you.
Wherever you are, whatever age you are, whatever stage of life you’re in—I hope you find something in these words that makes you pause, reflect, and feel a little less alone.
Thank you, 24.
Going into 25, my advice to myself is simple:
Live passionately. Love deeply. Stop watering myself down or comparing myself. Judge less, appreciate more. Seek understanding before assumption.
And above all, remember:
Love overpowers all.
(Arabic: حب يتغلب على كل شيء, Italian: L’amore vince tutto, Polish: Miłość przezwycięża wszystko, French: L’amour triomphe de tout, Spanish: El amor lo vence todo, Tagalog: Ang pag-ibig ang nangingibabaw sa lahat, German: Liebe besiegt alles, Korean: 사랑은 모든 것을 이긴다, Japanese: 愛はすべてに打ち勝つ, Hindi: प्रेम सब पर विजय प्राप्त करता है , Greek: Ἡ ἀγάπη πάντα νικᾷ.
Lots of love,
Carlzz
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