All the Firsts We Live Through
Life, though it might feel long, is fairly short. Things pass by in the blink of an eye, even if we still feel like we haven't quite grown up. But something you'll realize soon enough is that we all go through similar stages and common firsts—a cycle that's then passed on and continued. From our first breath to our final reflection, here are the 20 stages of growing up that we all go through.
1. First Breath
We come into the world breathing our first breath. We're bright-eyed and curious, our bodies sometimes spanning only the length of a palm, but the years rush past us in a blink. We might form memories here and there, sparse and blurry, as our developing brains try to capture every significant moment.
2. First Word and Step
Along the way, we take our first step—then we babble our first word. It might be "mama," "dada," or even "nana," short for "banana." We won't know until later just how important these two milestones are, and they're ones we'll see documented meticulously with photos and videos, scrapbooks and anecdotes through word-of-mouth, even decades later.
3. First Crush
Whether through school or elsewhere, we meet our first crush. We're still young enough that we might not fully understand what it is we like about this person, but there's something about them that makes us feel butterflies and tongue-tied.
4. First Kiss
Our first kiss might not go exactly as how we imagined—or maybe it's exactly as we dreamed. We'll realize later it depends largely on the person and whether we feel comfortable with them. It might be embarrassing and awkward the first time around, but we'll learn. Baby steps.
5. First Love
Experiencing your first love is nothing like your first crush. After all, infatuation is worlds different from devotion, or that deep, passionate intensity we feel when we know it's love. This is the person we can picture marrying; this is the person we think is "the one."
6. First Job
Our first job may be one we like or one we hate, but either way, it'll be our first experience making money instead of being given it. We'll make new friends and meet people we might have never crossed paths with if it weren't for us landing in the same place of work.
7. First Time
If we're lucky, our first time might be with the person we trust and love. Like our first kiss, it might be awkward and messy, but it'll nonetheless feel special, intimate, and sacred. And, like with everything else, it's a learning experience.
8. First Heartbreak
The first breakup we experience will be rough, and especially so if we were in a relationship with someone we truly loved. It might sound dramatic, but it'll almost feel like the world is ending and that nothing could fill that void again.
9. First Career Job
Somewhere down the line, we land our first career job working in a field we studied or one we're extremely passionate about. It'll feel wonderful and fulfilling, and we'll likely want to spend that first paycheck celebrating our success.
10. First Taste of Freedom
Now that we've secured a steady stream of income, we decide it's finally time to experience our first taste of independence and move out. We might by now have our own car as well, so that we can drive around to any place we want.
11. First Major Vacation
Whether it's a long-overdue solo travel plan or we have a friend or loved one to tag along, we go on our first major vacation. Maybe it's to a hidden island or across the ocean, or it's a months-long trip to a small town no one knows about. Either way, it's bound to be memorable. We might even make a new connection with someone special.
12. First Time Getting or Feeling Lost
Then, we hit a roadblock. We're lost. Maybe it's literal, maybe it's metaphorical, or perhaps it's both. We don't know where we're going and it's a crisis we lose sleep over, tossing and turning and wondering if this is really what life had in store for us.
13. First Marriage & House
Life, unpredictable as it is, may throw us a bone—a down followed by an up. We might end up marrying our second love, someone we met along the journey of discovering ourselves. With them, everything else unfolds—and before we know it, we're buying our first house together.
14. First Time as a Parent
The first time we become parents will feel surreal; it's almost like we're back to where we started. That first breath, first step, first word... we'll experience all of those firsthand, from the point of view of our parents when we were born. We'll then understand why everything was so painstakingly documented.
15. First Health Scare
As we get older, health becomes a priority. Maybe it's something we overlooked when we were young, taking every breath and movement for granted. The first scare we have might happen to us or to someone we love, and it makes us awfully aware of how transient life actually is.
16. First Loss
Our first loss will ingrain itself onto us, the kind of experience we can't fathom ever healing from. Maybe it's the loss of a parent or a friend. Maybe it's the loss of our lifelong partner or our child. Regardless of who it is, that heavy feeling of grief will stick with us for a while.
17. First Time Retiring
When we reach the retirement age, we might be immediately overcome with relief. We wonder if it means we'll now have more time for hobbies and picking back up the projects we started all those years ago but never finished. But after a while, we might feel restless, like our bodies have been trained to work and it feels strange to be freed from it. By this time, maybe our kids have all grown up and moved out, and our home might seem oddly empty.
18. First Grandchild
A couple of years down the line, we might meet our first grandchild. And it's then that we experience that rush we felt when we first met our own newborn. The first breath, first step, first word, and all the things we've experienced are now repeating over again. An ongoing cycle.
19. First Symptom
It might come out of nowhere. We feel fine one night then wake up the next morning disoriented, like the world is closing in. This may not yet be how it ends, but it's one that will forever change us and our outlook on the rest of the time we have left.
20. First—and Final—Reflection
Before we take our last breath, we reflect on all the memories we've lived through—this cycle of firsts, these stages of growing up that everyone experiences. It's not only a blessing to have had the chance to live through it firsthand but also to see it begin anew with our kids and grandkids, continuing on. After all, even if our chapter stops here, the story is far from over.
