Things I Didn't Expect to Loathe in My Mid-Twenties

What it's really like at 25: things I can't stand and honest confessions from a burnt out 25-year old

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After recently rewatching one of my ultimate comfort films, 10 Things I Hate About You, I found myself inspired to write this post. For those who haven’t seen it, the movie is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, set in a high school where love, rebellion, and sarcasm collide. The story follows Kat Stratford, a fiercely independent and sharp-tongued teenager, whose younger sister Bianca isn’t allowed to date until Kat does. To solve this problem, a charming ‘bad boy’, Patrick Verona, is paid to woo Kat. What begins as a setup soon turns into a genuine romance, as both Kat and Patrick reveal their vulnerabilities. The film is a mix of wit, teen drama, and heartfelt moments, culminating in Kat’s iconic poem confessing her feelings for Patrick.

One iconic scene features Kat Stratford reading a heartfelt poem that starts as a list of the things she "hates" about Patrick Verona, only to reveal her deep feelings for him by the end, leaving her in tears. It’s raw, witty, and beautifully human—and it got me thinking about my own list of things I can’t stand, though mine might lean a little more on the petty side. So, here’s my ode to the everyday annoyances that make life just a little more dramatic.

Kat’s Poem from 10 Things I Hate About You

Things I hate as a 25-year-old

• When people walk slow

• People pushing in waiting lines

• When TV shows I like get cancelled - *cough* Netflix

• Slow-paced books

• Receiving racist comments like “Go back to your home country!” or “Do you eat dog?” How classy. How very original.

• Authors that use complicated or unusual names in fantasy books that I cannot pronounce. At least include a pronunciation guide in the book.

• People who are rude to those who work in retail or hospitality. Or just people who are rude in general.

• Not being able to walk late at night alone without worrying about my safety.

• When people say working in social media/marketing isn’t a real job.

• Running - I’d rather do anything than run.

• The anxiety of being late.

• Overconsumption culture promoted by influencers.

• Not being able to finish a dish.

• When someone says “we should hang out” but doesn’t mean it

• How expensive hard copy and special edition books are - why is the dust jacket so expensive? At least include a bonus chapter in these books.

• When people sing Happy Birthday to me and I have no idea where to look.

• When people lose themselves in a relationship

• Impulse purchases - short-lived dopamine hit. Trust me just because it’s on sale doesn’t mean you have to buy it (read here for my no-buy & low-buy guidelines).

• Getting asked why I don’t have a boyfriend yet

• When my flight gets delayed or cancelled

• My bad eyesight

• Writing and updating a resume

• LinkedIn. Okay, we get it. You’re very excited to start your new job position.

• The rainbow wheel of death on my MacBook

• When people don’t turn their car indicators on.

• Overthinking

• Coffin nail design - this just freaks me out. Also how impractical is it? How do you type with nails like that?

• People who say “how can you read so much?” It’s really NOT that hard. Put in the effort and dedicate time to reading. People make time for the things they love whether it’s watching TV, going to the gym, or heck even scrolling on social media. You just need to be intentional with your time. Just start small like 10 minutes of reading a day or read a chapter a day.

• When someone asks “Where are you really from?” after I tell them I’m Chinese and originally from South Africa. You’d be surprised how many people can’t wrap their heads around the fact an Asian person can be born in a non-Asian country.

• Doom scrolling

• Small talk

• When I forget to wear my retainer

• Imposter syndrome

• How widespread and normalised vaping is especially amongst the younger generation

• How expensive groceries are - I had a meltdown the other day over how expensive a carton of eggs was. When did grocery items become somewhat of an indulgence?

• Procrastination

• Overflowed email inbox

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In case you missed out…

Here are a few of my most popular posts from these past few weeks loved by you:

• Can you name a place that….

• Rating how scary things I did alone in my twenties were

• Things I don’t regret buying as a 25-year-old (part 1)

• Some brutal honesty from a 25-year-old

• Things in Switzerland that altered my brain chemistry (part 2)

• 5 Articles you SHOULD read this week (Part 4)

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Links for you for this week

• On social media, books are trendy. Is reading? On TikTok and Instagram, influencers turn to books not as great literature, but as set dressing.

• How to master the art of small talk A guide to having actually interesting conversations with strangers.

• I’m glad I had a gun. I’m even happier I didn’t use it on an intruder.

• Social Media Broke Slang. Now We All Speak Phone. The irony: Online is where we most need the identity cues that idiosyncratic language used to provide.

• Is the end of social media near? I wanted to write something about my feelings and thoughts around social media. Instead, I wrote an essay.

Part 5 of Articles You Should Read This Week

• The death of capital letters: why gen Z loves lowercase

• The Benefit of Doing Things You’re Bad At To learn a difficult new skill means risking failure—but it’s also a path to greater happiness.

• A Fuller Picture of Artemisia Gentileschi The pioneering painter survived a rape, but scholars are pushing against the idea that her work was defined by it—and celebrating her rich harnessing of motherhood, passion, and ambition.

• Your FOMO Is Trying to Tell You Something Maybe you are missing out.

• While boomers are unretiring, exhausted Gen Z and millennials are taking a ‘micro-retirement’ from their careers

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The rest of this post is for paid subscribers, and here’s what you can expect:

• 5 articles I found interesting that you should read

• weekly media consumption report (books, films, TV shows)

• media recommendations (books, films & TV shows)

• question of the week submitted by my community - How did you start make money as a creator?

• things I’m excited about in March

It’s $7 for the month (the price of a cup of coffee) but the knowledge you might learn might change your career, productivity and life in between for the better - just like it did for me!