“ADIEU, MES VINGTAINES”

Today is my birthday—and I’ve been home sick since Tuesday evening. I caught a flu that felt like malaria y’imisaraba 12, on top of my usual companion: anemia. But, we move.

I can hardly believe the age I'm turning today. Where did the time go? Just yesterday, I was 18, and now—boom! —30. Yoh!

You know, there’s a particular way we view life when we’re young—a dreamy, idealistic lens shaped by the taboos, values, and principles handed down from our parents. We grow under their guidance, their rules, their hopes. But as we transition from teenagers to young adults, and then finally into adulthood, that grip loosens—rightfully so. With age comes independence. We start forming our own principles, carving out personal dreams, and chasing goals that feel truly ours.

Our early 20s are a whirlwind—sweet, confusing, and sometimes dangerous. If you’re not careful, everything and everyone around you will exploit your innocence. Many of us begin to shape our future selves, imagining we’ll become like our parents or role models. Others dream of becoming their own unique person, defined by experience and self-built philosophies.

But in that same period, we often get swept up in the “live while we’re young” mentality. Nothing else seems to matter. We flirt with beer—and it flirts back. Nights blur into mornings in bars. We surround ourselves with wrong company, well, because we long to be cool. We take up chic clothing, weird chic clothing, makeup equally weird. Walk and talk are out-of-town, exotic. We develop mediocre mindsets because we can’t think past our eyes and faulty self-possession. We jump from one relationship to another, reckless and unaware of the consequences we’re sowing.

Still, we hustle. In our 20s, we find ways to make money because that thirst for independence runs deep. Some of us even start picturing families of our own—though, let’s be honest, for most guys, it’s the last thing on their minds.

But when the dust settles, what we often collect from our youth is not the money, not the fun, but fragments—broken hearts, regrets, dark nights of the soul. We smile at ourselves in the mirror and keep moving. Some among us live clean, purpose-driven lives, never straying off the path—but only a handful. Most of us? We stumble, fall, get up again.

For people like me, going through every messy chapter of life might just be the only way to truly know oneself. You learn your limits, your values, your strengths, and your soft spots. You figure out what inspires you, who belongs in your circle, and what dreams are worth chasing. It’s not always about learning from mistakes—it’s about learning from everything. Knowing when to stop, when to begin again. Life, after all, is about growth—and above all, about choices.

That was just my little reflection on what it means to be in your 20s.

And now, here I am, waving goodbye to that decade. What a wild ride it’s been. Whew!

First and foremost, I thank God for bringing me this far. I genuinely don’t know how I survived my 20s—they could have taken me out. But here I am, whole and healthy. And for that, I thank God from the depths of my soul.

I started living independently when I joined college—don’t ask me what year! I was a nice girl then: calm, focused, serious about my studies. I wanted to make my parents proud, especially my dad—he’s married to education, and anything less than excellence wasn’t an option. I did well, but deep inside, I wanted to live. I wanted to know what was trending, what people were wearing, where the hottest bar was, what was out there, what I was missing. I had started discovering the world. By my third year, I made a decision: I was going to blend school and life. And that’s when I really started living. Trust me—I did not hold back.

Life was sweet. I mean sweet. This thing they call retour d’âge? It doesn’t even know the road I walk. Our paths will never cross—lol!

Ça fait du bien profiter de la vie quand t’es jeune. It really feels amazing to be alive. And no, I’m not saying I’m old—lol! —but this feels like a different kind of young. The way I enjoy life now has matured.

There were things I used to wish for back then—committed relationships, marriage, a lot of money, heavy responsibilities—but looking back, I thank God for sparing me from those too early. I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t the best version of myself. Those who know, know. It would’ve been chaos. I was barely holding myself together, just floating from one day to the next.

But today? I am happy. Genuinely, deeply happy. I’ve never felt this calm, this centered, this full of peace on a birthday before. I’m clear on who I am and who I want to become. I’m stable—spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. My relationship with God is the anchor that gave meaning to every other part of my life.

In my 20s, I was depressed. Constantly questioning my worth. Always trying to please people, desperate for love and validation. Man, it was a lot.

Today, I pause and breathe. I recognize the strength it took just to be here. And I celebrate that.

Today, I celebrate life—a beautiful life.

**Happy Birthday to Me 🎉**