Celebrate
It’s wedding season. Again.
The save-the-dates have turned into actual dates. The engagement posts are now a daily flood of white dresses, soft-filtered florals, and group chats where someone, somewhere, is frantically searching for an affordable pastel dress and praying their ex won’t be seated at Table 8. Meanwhile, the rest of us? We’re buying our own flowers, getting promoted, unpacking trauma in therapy, running half-marathons, or finally assembling that IKEA bookshelf we bought six months ago. And guess what? All of it deserves celebration.
In a world where the “big three”—engagement, marriage, and baby—are still treated as life’s only worthy milestones, it’s time we update the cultural registry. Because life doesn’t always unfold in the tidy, Pinterest-perfect narrative we were sold. It unravels, re-routes, and sometimes shows up with no warning wearing Crocs and holding a mirror. It happens—messy, magical, and often without a hashtag. Let’s hear it for the unconventional win. Remember when someone in your group text finally finished their degree after taking night classes for two years while working full-time and co-parenting? That’s a milestone. Or the friend who left a stable but soul-crushing job in finance to launch a ceramics business—and now sells mugs that say “Capitalism Gives Me Hives”? That’s worthy of a brunch toast, if not a confetti cannon.
Life is a mash-up of moments. Some are loud, like the applause at a wedding. Others are quiet: like the silence after signing divorce papers, the first good night’s sleep after a depressive episode, or a solo birthday dinner with dessert for one and no apologies. We’ve been conditioned to clap for rings and registries. But let’s also clap when someone pays off their student loans. When they start therapy. When they say “no” and mean it. When they book that solo trip to Greece or finally block the ex who "just wanted to check in." Healing is a milestone. So is peace.
While weddings are beautiful (and sometimes open bars), healing from trauma, ending toxic relationships, or just waking up and deciding to be happy again—these are emotional triumphs of the highest order. That friend who finally admitted, “I’m not okay” and took the step to get help? Throw her a party. The woman who raised a child alone, bought a house, and still manages to have great skin? Give her a parade. Mental health, personal boundaries, and self-worth aren’t as Instagrammable as diamond rings—but they are absolutely worth celebrating. Because life is not just about what you’ve acquired. It’s about what you’ve overcome.
Give me a garden over a garter toss. Let’s romanticize the woman who grew tomatoes on her fire escape. Who got a dog and takes it on better vacations than you’ve had this year. Who saved for years and finally signed the deed to her first home—even if her housewarming party is just pizza on a floor with no furniture. We need to normalize cheering for the friend who put herself through trade school. Or passed the bar on the third try. Or finally, finally learned to say “I love you” to herself.
Madonna said it best: “If we took a holiday / Took some time to celebrate / Just one day out of life / It would be so nice.”
Yes, Madge. It would.
Create rituals for your wins. Light a candle for surviving another Mercury retrograde without texting your ex. Take yourself out to a steak dinner when you negotiate a raise. Write yourself a love letter after a breakup. Or just sit quietly with a glass of wine and say: I made it. And if you want to throw yourself a party for landing a new apartment, publishing an essay, or finishing your sixth month alcohol-free—do it. Get balloons. Make a playlist. Invite friends. Wear something sparkly. It’s not extra, it’s earned.
Life is happening—just not as planned. Maybe your timeline looks nothing like you imagined. That’s not failure. That’s freedom. Maybe you never got married, or maybe you did and realized marriage isn’t the crown jewel of adulthood. Maybe you don’t want kids. Maybe you are the child you’re finally learning to take care of.
Wherever you are on the path—whether it’s straight, winding, uphill, or delightfully off-course—you’re still moving. And that alone is worth honoring. So the next time you’re asked when you’re getting married or having kids, feel free to respond with:
“Oh, I’m too busy celebrating my emotional maturity and 750 credit score. But thanks for asking.” Let’s redefine what it means to “have it all.” Let’s normalize applause for the everyday brilliance, the soft wins, the silent breakthroughs. The real stuff. Let’s stop waiting for the big three—and start celebrating all of it.
Because here’s the truth: life isn’t a neatly plotted rom-com. It’s more like a chaotic group text. You don’t always know what’s coming, but when you get the message that says “I did it”—you celebrate.