Things I'd Tell My 25 Year Old Self

In this episode of Allison’s Corner, Allison is pulling up a chair at the table—this time with her younger self. At 25, life felt full of questions, crossroads, and quiet insecurities. Now, Allison is reflecting on the wisdom she’s gathered since then and the advice she wishes she could have whispered to that version of herself. This isn’t just a list of lessons—it’s an honest conversation about growth, grace, and the unexpected turns that shape who we become. From love and career to confidence and faith, this episode is part storytelling, part reflection, and part gentle reminder that your 20s don’t have to look perfect to have meaning. We’re unpacking:

• What she wishes she had trusted more (and worried less about)
• How to embrace mistakes as part of the process
• The power of self-worth, boundaries, and saying “no”
• Why the journey matters just as much as the destination

If you’ve ever looked back and thought about what you’d tell your younger self—or if you’re in your 20s trying to figure it all out—this episode is for you. So grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and let’s have this heart-to-heart.


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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hey, and welcome to Alison's Corner. This is my little
corner of the Internet where we dive into wellness, personal growth, relationships,
and just other topics best suited for you. I'm your host, Alison,
bringing you fresh perspectives, inspiring conversations, and a little something

(00:29):
to spark your day. Be sure to follow along with
Allison's Corner on Instagram, subscribe to our newsletter, and watch
us on YouTube at Allison's Corner Pod. Here you'll find
more insights in community updates of what we have going
on on Allison's Corner. Now, without further ado, here is

(00:50):
today's episode. Hey, y'all, welcome back to another episode of
Alison's Corner. Of course, I am your host, Alison, and
today's episode is going to feel like one of those

(01:11):
deep conversations that you have with your best friend late
at night when the makeup is off, your hair is wrapped,
and you are just sitting on the couch with snacks.
Being honest, okay, because today I'm talking about something that
I've been reflecting on a lot lately, and it's what

(01:33):
I would tell my twenty five year old self. Now,
let me go ahead and paint the picture for you.
I thought at twenty five that I knew it all,
and in some ways I did. You know, I was
working my very first big girl job out of college,

(01:55):
I had responsibilities, and I was really making concent decisions
and choices that shaped my future. But at the same time,
I was truthfully very confused. You know, I was worried
about timelines, I was comparing myself to everyone else, and

(02:20):
I had no idea that some of the lessons I
really needed would come from falling flat on my face.
Because here's the thing. I think we all have that
version of ourselves that we look back on and we
just want to hug and sometimes you want to shake her,

(02:41):
and sometimes you want to say, girl, don't do that,
but mostly you just want to tell her you know
it's going to be okay. And maybe as you listen,
you'll hear something that feels like it's for you right now.
Because honestly, even though I'm saying these things are what

(03:03):
I would tell twenty five year old Allison, I have
to keep it real. I still need some of these
reminders today because growth is not a straight line. So
let's go ahead and get into it. Ten lessons, Ten
things I wish i'd known sooner, or at least believed sooner,

(03:27):
And the first one is a big one. So let's
go ahead and get our drinks and go into today's episode.
The first thing that I would tell myself less the
number one, stop rushing the timeline. Twenty five year old
me thought that life came with deadlines. I thought that

(03:49):
I would be married by twenty eight, kids by thirty,
established career by thirty two, and if I wasn't yet,
it was straight panic mode. You know. I remember going
to a friend's engagement party around that age, and the
whole time I was happy for her, genuinely happy for her.

(04:14):
But in the back of my mind, I kept thinking,
what about me? And am I behind? You know what's
going on? And I feel like that's the trap when
you try to rush the timeline, you know, you start
measuring your life against somebody else's stop watch. And the

(04:35):
thing that I want y'all to know is that life
doesn't work like that. Some people meet the love of
their life at twenty two, some meet them at forty two,
and I'll be honest, some never, do you know. Some
people get their dream job at twenty five, and others

(04:56):
don't find their passion until they're fifty. But neither of
them are wrong, because when you rush, you settle, You
say yes to relationships that aren't right just because you
think that time is running out, and you stay in

(05:17):
jobs that truthfully make you super miserable because you think,
at the very least you're stable, and you push yourself
into these milestones that they don't even belong to you.
And I wish that I could have really sat myself
down and told myself, you are not late, you're not behind,

(05:42):
and you are right on time for everything that is
happening in your life, because when I look back, those
years of feeling like I was behind, they were actually
my building blocks, you know, detours that I thought were
detours at that time, They weren't detours at all. They

(06:05):
were the road. So if you're listening right now and
you feel like you're behind in love, in money, in
your career, I just want to say this so it
can help free you. There is no behind. Your path
is yours and it's not supposed to look like anybody else's.

(06:28):
Lesson Number two, protect your peace like it's your job. Okay.
At twenty five, I had a habit of saying yes
to everything. I said yes to plans, I didn't even
want to go to extra work or tax that they would,

(06:49):
you know, give me at work that I didn't really
have time for people who drained me. I thought that
being available made me kind or dependable, but really it
just made me tired and resentful of everything. And I
want y'all to know that peace is priceless and you

(07:13):
have to treat peace like it is your full time job,
because learning to say no without apologizing was one of
the hardest things for me. You know, the first time
I declined plans just because I needed rest, I felt guilty.

(07:35):
And y'all the freedom that came after just saying no
life changing. Okay, peace isn't just about what you say
no to. It's about what you let in, and that
can go for so many things, relationships, jobs, even the

(07:55):
media that you consume. You know, protecting your peace peace
is choosing what has access to you. And at twenty five,
I didn't know how valuable my energy was. Because now
I treat it like it's currency. You don't hand money

(08:17):
to just anybody, and you don't hand your piece over
to just anybody, so treat it as such. Lesson number three.
Your friendships will evolve, and that is okay. At twenty five,
I thought my circle would look the same forever. But

(08:39):
here's the truth. Friendships do change and some fade, some deepen,
and some end, And that doesn't mean failure. It just
means people grow in different directions. And I used to
hold on to certain friendships out of guilt. I'd force
connections weren't serving either of us. And I wish I'd

(09:05):
known sooner that it's okay to let go because some
friends are honestly seasonal, and that season doesn't make them
less valuable. It just means their role for that time
in your life is complete. And the beautiful part about
all of that is that the friends who are meant

(09:27):
to walk with you for the long haul, they'll grow
and they'll also evolve with you. And the beautiful part
of all of that is that the friends who are
meant to walk with you for the long haul, they
will also grow and evolve with you. Lesson number four,

(09:49):
Learn financial discipline early. Okay. At twenty five, Brunch and
Amazon had me in a chokehold. I didn't know anything budgets,
retirement funds, nothing. I thought I had time to figure
it all out later. But I really want to stress

(10:10):
to you that every dollar is a seed and if
you don't start planting early. Trust me when I say this,
you will wish that you had. And I'd go back,
and I tell my younger self, go open up that
savings account, learn about credit. But even if it's fifty

(10:30):
dollars to your four oh one K or whatever retirement
fund that you can okay every month, just make that transaction.
It doesn't have to be perfect, but you just want
it to be consistent because financial discipline, it's not about restrictions.

(10:51):
It's about freedom, and it's about that freedom from stress,
from living paycheck to paycheck and just be stuck in
situations where you don't have the money to leave Lesson
number five, healing is not optional. At twenty five, I

(11:14):
experienced a death of a loved one who was really
close to me. My grandmother passed away, and that really,
I guess at the time, even though it was the
lowest point in my life at that time, now looking back,

(11:34):
I see it as a valley that really helped me
in growing. And I thought that ignoring my pain was
the same as moving on, and I was very wrong
about that. Because healing it doesn't happen by accident. Unhealed

(11:57):
wounds leak out and they leave out in relationships, at work,
and how you even choose to talk to yourself. And
I'd really really wish that I could go back and
tell myself, girl, go to therapy journal, pray, but don't

(12:18):
carry yesterday's pain into tomorrow. Because healing it's not optional.
If you don't do it intentionally, I promise you life
will force you to. Lesson number six, stop shrinking yourself

(12:40):
to fit in. I remember at twenty five, I worried
about being too much, being too ambitious, too opinionated, too loud.
So I purposely shrink myself in order to make others comfortable.
But let me tell you this, the people who are

(13:01):
meant for you will never be intimidated by your shine.
They will clap for you, they will cheer you on,
and they will help you grow. So the one thing
that I would definitely tell her stop shrinking. You need
to shine. The ones who cannot handle it, that's not
your problem, that's their problem. Lesson number seven, take care

(13:26):
of your body now, not later. I remember when I
was younger, I thought my body would bounce back from anything,
you know, fast food at midnight, just drinking coffee for breakfast,
not getting any sleep, And maybe it did then, but habits,

(13:49):
they start to catch up with you. And trust me
when I say, I am now feeling the effects of
some of my bad habits in my twenties, because in
your thirties, in your forties, in your fifties, they're built
on what you do in your twenties. So I would
go back and I would definitely tell her move your body,

(14:11):
you know, drink water, go to sleep, and eat the
food that really fuels you. And another very important one,
go to the doctor. You know, health isn't just physical,
but it's also that mental, emotional, spiritual mindset that you

(14:34):
need that carries you through and taking care of yourself.
Trust me when I say this, it is an act
of love that your future self will definitely appreciate. Lesson
number eight, Love will not complete you. You know, at
twenty five, I thought the right relationship would just fix everything,

(14:58):
that once I found love, i'd feel whole. But love
isn't a band aid. It's not a completion, it's addition.
And I would really tell her be whole first, and
then love from overflow. Not from emptiness, because when you

(15:22):
know your worth, you stop settling, you stop confusing attention
for affection, and when you do that, you begin to
build healthier relationships with your significant others. Less number nine,
failures are just data. I remember I was so terrified

(15:46):
of failing. I thought it proved that I wasn't good enough.
But now I know failure isn't final. It's definitely feedback.
You know, every failure has taught me something success could
never And looking back, the things I thought that were

(16:10):
the end of the world, like I said before, they
were just my stepping stones. So I would definitely tell her,
don't fear failure. What you should fear is staying stuck
because you never even tried. And then last, but certainly

(16:31):
not least lesson number ten, you are enough right now.
If I could go back and tell my twenty five
year old self one thing, it would be that you
are enough right now. Not when you get the job,
not when you lose the weight, not when you find

(16:53):
the partner, but right now, because at the end of
the day, worthiness isn't so something you earn, it's something
that you already have. So those are the ten things
I tell my twenty five year old self, and maybe
as you listened, one of them landed for you. Maybe

(17:17):
you're in your twenties right now, feeling behind, you're worried
about timelines, or maybe you're older and you still struggle
with shrinking yourself or protecting your peace or believing you're enough.
Wherever you are, I want you to know this, that

(17:39):
you are not alone and growth. It's life long. You know,
these lessons aren't just for one age. They are for
all of us, and sometimes we have to learn those
lessons over and over and over again. Okay, so take
what you need, share it with someone who need it

(18:00):
to and again, thank you for always being a part
of Allison's Corner. Before we leave, I want to end
today's episode with a quote, and our quote reads, these
are the days you're younger self dreamt of and your

(18:21):
older self will long for. As always, God bless have
an amazing day, and thank y'all for listening to Alison's Corner.
Thanks for tuning in to Allison's Corner. If you enjoy
today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and

(18:43):
share it with a friend who'd love to join the conversation.
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YouTube at Allison's Corner Pod. Until next time, be blessed,