Cheers to Our Late Twenty-Somethings!

Some say third time’s a charm, so here we go. 

Hi you! It’s been a minute. We’ve been here before. I’ve lived, I’ve left, I’ve grown, and now I’m back; better, different, softer, sharper, wiser, evolved, and happier than I’ve ever been before.

This space has existed in a few versions of my life for the past 6 years. It has been collaborative. It has been rebranded. It has been paused. It has survived cross country moves, heartbreak, immense challenge, relationship shifts of every kind, identity pivots, and the kind of growth that quietly rearranges your entire inner world over and over again.

And through all of it, one thing has stayed consistent: I always found myself coming back to writing.

Maybe it’s the Capricorn in me. Maybe it’s my deep resonance with the true Capricorn himself, Alexander Hamilton, where I’ve always felt like I’m writing out of time. But I’m always trying to capture the fleeting moments that are constantly slipping through my fingertips through my written word. A pinpoint in the exact moments of time and space that I’m experiencing.

I used to think consistency meant never leaving.

But now I know consistency means always returning back to yourself, no matter how many times you fall off the path.

For a long time, I was writing while still trying to figure out who I was. Documenting the story while actively reshaping it. Graduating college. Moving to Chicago. Falling in love. Losing myself. Building my identity. Rebuilding what home means. Finding my soul.

I look back at so much of my writing and I wish I could go back and give her such a big hug. She was so excited, so pure, so young, so naive, so fearless.

But life does what it does when you hit your mid twenties. You start really taking stock of everything around you. You see life through a new pair of lenses. Some say you gain discernment, knowledge, and wisdom; some say your frontal lobe develops; and some say you finally start feeling hangovers.

But at some point, I realized I needed to stop narrating my life and start understanding what I truly wanted for myself and my future. And unfortunately, the life I was living and the life I wanted were two very different realities.

The last three years were much less about being what people wanted me to be and much more about preserving my life and myself.

Preserving my peace.

Preserving my intuition.

Preserving the version of me that was quietly forming without outside validation.

I had to learn what mattered and who mattered. I had to sharpen my inner voice. I had to trust myself enough to keep reshaping my reality until I felt comfortable living in it again. Comfortable in my values, my decisions, my dreams, living in my skin, living in my purpose.

And now… I am happy to announce that I finally do.

There is such a beauty in knowing yourself.

In knowing which ice cream you reach for at the grocery store.

How you like your bed made.

The exact temperature you love your bath.

Intentionally choosing every product you buy and why.

Knowing which exercises sync your mind, body, and spirit.

Understanding why that song makes your soul feel so electric.

Knowing how to set personal goals and achieve your dreams.

Truly finding what fills your cup.

That kind of self knowing doesn’t happen loudly. It happens in the quiet.

In the early mornings, the sleepless nights, the emotional reprieves. The moments by the ocean. Staring at the stars. Sobbing to your favorite song. In the ruthlessness of rebuilding. In the hustle of it all. In letting go. In the moments of choosing yourself over and over again.

And somewhere in that process, I realized something:

I missed having this space to think amongst others like me and sharing this community.

I missed sharing my inner dialogue with anyone willing to sit down and read my written words.

I miss connecting with other people who are also trying to figure out their twenties; especially us in our later twenties, when you’re not brand new anymore, but you’re not fully settled either.

This isn’t a new beginning.
It’s not a rebrand.
It’s not a comeback tour.

It’s just me.

Writing because I love to.
Sharing because I want to.
Building a space where we can talk about ambition and intuition and mental health and the quiet art of building a life that actually feels good to live in.

If you’re here and you’ve been here before — Welcome back.

I’ve missed you.

If you’re new here and have started over more than once — also welcome.

We’re not behind. We’re becoming.

So Hi you!

I’m still here. And this time, I’m writing only for me and you.

Cheers to our Twenty Somethings!

Rayna xoxo