The highs and lows of the twenties

Life is a struggle, and as we get older it will only get harder. When I was younger, I always thought that turning twenty meant that I would have control of my life. I’m twenty-two and my life is a mess – or so it seems. Some days I’m stuck between making adult decisions and other days I’m told to stay with a kid. The sad reality is that turning twenty isn’t where you figured out your life, it’s where your life begins. It’s the time in your life when, on Thanksgiving, you’re too old to sit at the children’s table, but too young to sit with older family members. So you end up sitting alone.

GhostDaSquarian · SZA – 20 Something (original)

Twenty something is really confusing. Some of your friends may already be married and have two kids, some may have their dream house and car, and there are some who are still in college trying to figure out if coffee is going to be edible or if they have to spend their last five dollars on a baking tray. Don’t forget the weird guy behind you in the queue who notices you’re having trouble finding thirty-six tax cents so he gives it to you, then asks for your number. Whichever category you fall into, we can all agree that turning twenty might not be what we imagined. To be twenty is to fail at everything you do, but to be able to learn from those mistakes and create purpose. Turning twenty means losing ties with people you thought were still there. To be twenty is to be heartbroken by the one to whom you gave everything. To be twenty is to become – YOU. Even though being 20 sucks, it might just be the best thing life has to offer.

Being twenty is not what I imagined. Honestly, I didn’t even plan to be here when I was twenty. Due to multiple suicide attempts and obstacles, I succeeded. Now that I’m a senior in college, life is about to hit me much harder than ever. Will I graduate and have a well-paying job? Maybe. Am I going to go to law school? Maybe. Will I be stuck in my hometown? Maybe. I guess if you read this far in the article you might have similar questions. The worst thing you can do is question yourself. Often when you question yourself, you start believing those negative thoughts in your head that you can’t do something. If you allow it, doubt will kill your dreams before failure has a chance.

As a 20-something, you feel like you have something to prove. Perhaps to your family or even to your peers. The truth is, trying to prove what you know ends up showing everything you don’t know – tax returns, 401k plans, the stock market, real estate, your future. It’s normal not to understand life 100%. Nobody thinks you’re a failure. You are only twenty years old. You are literally at the stage where you are not fluent in the adult language, but you still have adult responsibilities.

Your twenties are your selfish years. You are old enough to make the right decision, but young enough to make the wrong one. Be selfish with your time – travel, explore, fall in love and fall in love, be ridiculous, silly, stupid and wild.

Being twenty something.