Week 72: Here Begins My Quarter Life Crisis

Week 72: May 12th-18th, 2024

When its your birthday, everyone tends to ask "How do you feel now that you're X years old?" and my response this year was, "Thankfully, not all that different from yesterday, and probably not all that different from tomorrow." Now that I've officially hit the official age for a quarter life crisis and can get regular rental car rates, you would think that I've got life a little more figured out. Maybe I do, but turning 25 was not as eventful as you might expect. A switch didn't click on in my brain when the clock hit midnight, even though my prefrontal cortex is now apparently "fully developed."

The funny thing about me turning 25 is that my sister told me she panicked and said, "Oh no, if my little sister is now 25...then that means I'll be 30 in a month!" and yes, that is how math works. I will always be the "little sister," especially because I thrive when fine-tuning my ability to annoy, but it is really fun to grow up and grow closer to my sister as "adults." She has always been a foodie, and I benefit greatly from this because she and her husband treat me to amazing dinners on my birthday each year.

This year, they took me to DJK (Dae Jang Keum) Korean BBQ, and it did not disappoint.

The DJK website showcases their delicious dishes and after trying them myself, their longstanding success in San Diego makes a lot of sense. Here is their Yelp page as well. At dinner, I surprised myself when I actually liked pairing the Cass beer with KBBQ, because I normally don't like beers. My favorite thing we ate was the galbi, which has always been my go-to Korean meat choice. It tasted so good, and so familiar, and filled my stomach as well as my heart.

DJK parking lot had some fun color cars!

Pre-BBQ!

Delicious BBQ!

After dinner, despite our bursting tummies, we obviously needed a little treat for dessert. Since we were all too full for anything substantial like cake or ice cream, my sister, brother-in-law and I didn't hesitate to treat ourselves with boba tea. As a boba connoisseur, my sister is even more familiar with the boba shops in San Diego than I am. Thankfully, I can trust my sister's judgement on all things food and drinks and Camellia Rd boba tea shop was a great choice.

The Camellia Rd shop shares a parking lot with Daiso!

My hojicha tea with boba and 75% sugar was a delicious end to a great birthday dinner.

Maybe I'm just really full and happy and delirious, but at the moment, I kind of hope my prefrontal cortex stays undeveloped. I feel like growing up is scary. It is unpredictable. Growing up is new, and different, and I am a stubborn person who loves reliability and routine. Sometimes I find myself wishing I was still seven years old, when my biggest worry was picking which Bratz dolls to bring to my playdates. Other times though, I've also found it fulfilling and fun to figure out who I am becoming. Life changes and so am I, and I'm excited for the future. Here's to eating well, being an annoying little sister forever, and growing up but not too much.

I also got to celebrate with my friends over the weekend!

See you next week.