Turning 35 is quite something. You hit the halfway point between 30 and 40 and think, I literally left school a few years ago, where has the time gone?! I feel like I was in school yesterday, obsessed with reading Cosmo Girl and figuring out why I was so upset with myself for not looking like the girls in the magazine. Seeing my teen idols and crushes, like Omarion from B2K, turn 40 this past week (although Lil’ Fizz was more my type) is a reminder that Father Time waits for no one.

I’m musically stuck in the 2000s, with a playlist that consists of 8701, Destiny’s Child, UK grime and garage classics such as Kano’s P’s & Q’s, Mitchell Brothers’ Routine Check, So Solid Crew, Pink when she was “Black” and more. When I listen to the music of my teens, I’m flooded with beautiful memories and cringe-worthy moments, but I’m also reminded of the lessons I’ve learned over the past few decades.