Today’s culture loves to tell college students that we are inadequately prepared for success in the “real world” unless we have performed well in classes, held prestigious internships on top of community service and extracurriculars, proven our unique talents and gained the necessary hard skills to keep our heads down and work tirelessly for the next 40 years. Our 20s have been turned into a decade of pressure, stress, confusion and anxiety. We are taught that we have no chance of becoming millionaires, let alone financially stable, if we don’t start with the right job and the right ladder to climb. We are behind, trapped on a narrow bullet train, propelled toward our predestined futures.
However, our 20s were made for far more than this.
I’ve recently been reminded what a joy it is to be 20! I blocked off the time to take a Christmas girls’ trip with my mom and sister to New York City and had the energy to explore the city from dawn to dusk at the most magical time of year. Being 20-years-old means getting a month at the end of the year to spend nestled inside, enjoying the company of loved ones and reflecting on the kind of year we want to have (and being young enough to change as much as we like). We are old enough to live on our own, but we are young enough that our parents can fill out 10 pages of medical documents for us if we plead enough. In our 20s, we start to discover who we want to be and have the time to change our minds. We can order exactly what we like at our favorite restaurant and know what pick-me-up drink never fails to make us smile. Some days we listen to the same song on repeat, and sometimes our music taste changes faster than Midwestern weather. We get to feel big emotions. We get to try TikTok fitness regimens and new exercise classes on a whim without crazy physical repercussions. Our 20s are sunset car rides and simple pleasures, professional attire and heels evenly mixed with pajama pants and oversized hoodies.
During this decade, we could have kids and land our dream career. Or we could travel the world or simply enjoy our favorite dessert at 10 p.m. There is no wrong answer, and all are perfect in their own way on their own time frames.
Yes, the future is important, but the future will always be there. Right now, I am just worried about soaking in the fullness of the present, whether that is browsing my to-be-read pile, organizing my cute little planner for the semester or picking what time of day is the warmest for a hot girl walk. I can’t wait to look back at my 20s to see how much I have grown and all of the adventures I go on. As this semester starts picking up speed, I just want to remind you that you are exactly where you need to be.