I recently turned twenty, and yippee, I was just another year older. It’s weird, but there is this strange stigma around being only twenty years old. Yes, only, not like I’ve lived twenty years or anything, but ONLY twenty because I’m still not that golden twenty-one. The age twenty, and even just the day you turn twenty, seems to be surrounded by the idea that twenty sucks. I even started to think so, and I’ve only been twenty for a few days. I mean, everyone just cares when you turn the big two-one, right? Even CVS and Walgreens don’t care- take a look down their card aisle. Try to find a card that says “Happy 20th”- yeah. My dad tried. That card doesn’t exist.
SO, what’s the deal with being twenty? What does twenty even mean… We can’t walk into a bar and buy our own drink (legally), so then does it not really mean anything at all? According to multiple blogs, written by people much older and wiser, twenty is the age to be. Twenty is perhaps the perfect age, if there is one, to make mistakes. And, twenty is the time to be fearless (as impossible as that sounds at the moment). So, for us twenty year olds out there, or those approaching twenty, here is what we have to remember
1. Make the decision to be happy
Everyone, from the media, to your own family, has their opinion of what is right for you, or what happiness is. Whether it is having a boyfriend or husband, children, a career, money, a huge home, people will always try to tell you what will make you happy. Don’t listen. It is up to you to make the conscious decision to be happy, and is solely dependent on yourself. Wake up each morning happy, do the things that make you happy, and rid yourself of the things that do not. This is the time in your life when you decide what you want to do, and discard that former, false state of happiness that was what others wanted it to be for you. Find what makes you happy, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
2. Let go
Don’t be afraid to let go of the things we cannot control. Stop worrying so much, because in all honesty, we can’t control everything. Sometimes, just take a step back and let it go. There are greater forces at work and sure they might suck sometimes, but more often than not, they will be amazing. Learn that all you can do is control yourself right now, and other than that, what happens, happens. Don’t ruin your joy of today based on worrying about things that most likely are out of your control. Move forward, what’s done is done, and let it go. Things will work out in the end.
3.There are no regrets
Every person that comes into your life, whether they stay or leave, everything you’ll experience, all the mess-ups, all the successes, all the unfair moments, and the trivial ones too, will all serve not only as life lessons but as teachers. Every single person you meet will serve as a learning experience, and every challenge will teach you more about yourself that will help you at some point in your life. These lessons, no matter how horrible or exciting they are in the moment, should be used to create the best version of yourself. Take these sucky people and flip it- make it a learning experience for yourself about what you don’t want to be, about what you don’t want in a friend, and focus on how you can be better than that. Always remember to grow and move forward- use the past as a teacher, but never as an anchor.
4. You are free
Think about it- for all our lives as a child, up to our teens, we were tied down by the rules and regulations of our parents. Sure we could drive and maybe sneak out to that late night high school party and feel like a total BA, but let’s be real. That’s not freedom. What is freedom is right now. It is the ability to choose how we shape the next few years of our lives, which will therefore mold the rest of our life. We can change our majors, change our friends, move, explore, and even later on, quit jobs, travel, anything. We have the ability now to be completely free, and make those choices with that freedom shape if not the next few days, the next few years.
5. Enjoy your youth
Stop trying to be in another place or time, or someone else. You are you, and you are fabulous at twenty. Think about it- you don’t have a career yet, and you don’t have your whole life mapped out and that’s great! You have an entire life ahead of you to figure everything out, but for the time being, you are just a college student living each day to the best of your ability. Everything will fall into place one day, but right now, enjoy the moments, the embarrassments, the funny nights with your friends, the horrible parties, the girl nights in. Because one day, you’ll look back and wish you could be right where you are now. Never forget that being young is magical.
Sources:
http://www.ted.com/conversations/18412/if_you_could_give_your_twenty.html
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12246/12-things-i-would-say-to-my-20-something-self.html
http://thoughtcatalog.com/ryan-oconnell/2012/03/why-being-in-your-20s-is-awesome/
Photo Credits:
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