You only turn 25 once…they said

This year for my 25th birthday I knew that I wanted to celebrate outside of U.S. and definitely outside of Brooklyn New York.After my first international trip to DR I decided to my bday celebration international–I called up two of my favorite girls and booked a trip to Cancun,Mexico. I’m so happy I made that decision. It ended up being the best birthday celebration I’ve had in a long time. Usually my birthday’s are  subpar spent at some bar, brunch or day party somewhere on the East Coast. This year I wanted to really toast to my accomplishments (insert headlines Drake beat) and have a celebration worth having.

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I’m queen bougie on a budget and of course I booked my vacation for the low 

My all-inclusive vacation at a 5 star adults only resort plus air  (straight flights) came out to $860 per person. Considering my birthday is smack dab in the middle of the summer (July 25th)  and the flights at the time were about $600 roundtrip per person, I’ll say I got one hell of a deal.

Me and my girls booked a junior suite Rui Palace Las Americas for our first Mexico experience

I actually found Rui Palace Las Americas on google (of course) and dm’ed a few people who tagged the location on Instagram to ask them about their experience directly. The general consensus was that it was a great place to stay so I was completely sold.  Rui Palace America’s was more beautiful in person than it is in pictures (I too thought that wasn’t possible).

READ LATER: How I’m Getting Over My “Birthday Blues”

The food at Rui Palace America’s was  A1

Every restuarant had something delicious to offer. My favorites from my stay were the garlic shrimp and seviche.

And let’s not forget the poolside bar (a.k.a. my second home while on vacation)

There nothing more fun than a pool party with unlimited drinks and bingo. You can’t forget the bingo. You’ll be suprised how much time you can spend in a pool when there’s good drinks and good vibes surrounding you.

Did I mention our suite was equipped a liquor dispenser 

I thought this kind of contraption only existed in my head. I would without a doubt recommend staying at Rui Palace for your stay in Cancun. The staff was amazing and so are all of the amenities. I literally have no complaints about my stay except for the fact that I wish I had stay longer.

Excursions are a must when going international

And this time around it was the Mayan Ruins. For our excursion we booked through Cancun Adventure for an express guided tour through the Mayan Ruin Tulum. It  was beautiful but hot and humid af. If you’re not down for walking through the ruins in 85+ degree weather and 90% humidity I suggest finding another activity to do, like jet skiing or snorkeling. The heat was intense as you can see in this photo of me soaking wet in sweat ewww.

The hotel zone in Cancun gives you the best of both worlds.

Unlike other resorts, you have the option to leave your resort and mix and mingle with other vacation goers in the Hotel Zone. The Hotel Zone is essentially  a safe space for vacationers to let loose and turn up without having to look over their shoulders every 5 seconds. Think Bourbon Street but in a spanish speaking country.

Now on to the most important part of this post

Here are the 3 revelations that I came to on my 25th birthday vacation to Cancun.

The significance of Quality over Quantity

Only as of recent I’ve gone on vacation with just 3 people and been okay with that. Honestly, the less people the better the turn up. Everytime my birthday rolls around I always feel the need to celebrate with everyone that I’ve ever crossed paths with (like many 20 somethings that I know).

It’s so much more enjoyable and less of an headache not having to mix personalities and people for different walks of your life. More intimate celebrations have been the most enjoyable and I’m going to keep this in mind going forwards.

Birthdays are made for relaxation not turning up

If I had to pick my most memorable birthday thus far (before my 25th) I’d say it was my 17th birthday. I went to Spa Castle in Queens, NYC with some of my closest friends and it was relaxing af and amazing, There’s nothing more freeing than hopping in a pool nude, sitting in a sauna and just letting your mind rest.

You can be the life of the party even if you show up alone

After too many shots of tequila, I found myself being the only one up to and physically capable of hitting the strip in Cancun to see what the nightlife was like. I partied by myself and had the time of my life. I danced like no one was around (until I had a crowd of people around cheering me on), met some new friends, hit a strip club and got back in at 7am ready for my morning excursion. When you radiate comfort in your own skin you attract such good vibes–it’s amazing.

My vacation was a reflection of the what turning 25 feels like to me. At first, like many people I went into panic mode–I mean 25 is relatively close to 30 right? But 25 has been so great to me.  It feels like leading up to my 25th birthday so many great things have happened to me and not so great things but I’ve learned from them all.  May my 25th year be full of laughs, love and even more lessons learned. Cheers!

How did you feel turning 25? Vent below