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Style > Fashion

how to celebrate your 22nd birthday taylor swift style

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

My 21st birthday is now over, and I’m kind of sad about it. There’s a new sense of purpose when you turn 21 and it’s fun buying your very first drink and going to the liquor store for the first time. It feels like the older version of turning 16, because you get to drive for the first time and you might get your first car.

Now, I’m 22 and I have never felt more old and young at the same time. I’m an October libra, so it has just passed, but I can say it feels a lot different than I expected.

Compared to my 21st birthday, my 22nd birthday was low key and filled with friends and lots of replays of Taylor Swift’s “22.” It was the cutest and most chill birthday I’ve ever had, and here’s how I celebrated:

sleep in

I slept in until 9 a.m. on my birthday, and while that might not seem late to some people, it’s late to me because usually I’m up at 7 a.m. The night before, I did a long skincare routine so I could wake up with a refreshed face.

I went to bed kind of early and just let my body sleep. I wasn’t in a rush to turn 22, so I got the much beauty sleep that I needed. It’s weird, but I feel like an older, mature woman now, so I need all of the beauty sleep that I can get.

If you’re turning 22, it’s time to get your much needed rest after a full year of 21 fun.

dress in a cute outfit (or dress like a hipster)

“It feels like a perfect night, to dress up like hipsters…” is such an iconic Taylor Swift lyric. When I woke up, this was the first thing that I listened to.

It got me out of my sad mood of turning 22, and I immediately said, “it’s my Taylor Swift year.” I usually plan my birthday outfits ahead of time, but I just wanted to go with the flow. I did, however, have two outfits.

I wore a cute sweater with jeans for the first half of the day and then for my birthday dinner, I wore a hot pink top with leather pants and black heels. I went out with my close group of friends for a nice dinner and we all dressed up cute and classy.

We laughed and talked about literally everything. It was such a fun time.

get a bedazzled birthday cake

After dinner, my friends had bought me an all pink birthday cakeā€” and I mean all pink. Pink icing, pink candles and the actual inside being pink.

I put so many candles on top, and the coolest part was instead of being sung the typical happy birthday song, my friends and I skipped to the part in “22” where Swift sings, “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22.” It was the coolest feeling ever getting to blow out my pink, sparkly candles to that line.

So, in all, I had an amazing 22nd birthday, even though I didn’t think I would because I thought that I would feel old, but I only feel like a more mature young person. I am ready to live my best 22nd year, just like the song says. It feels like the type of birthday to live my best life, because you’re only young once.

The “22” song is so true, and it encompasses what a 22nd birthday should feel like. If you’re scared to not be 21 anymore, trust me, it has been so much better so far being 22, and I’m so ready to live out my Taylor Swift year.

I am a senior at Penn State University majoring in digital and print journalism with a minor in digital media trends and analytics.