If you’re not yet 20, listen up because these are some things you’ll probably lose like the rest of us 20-year-olds (you’ve been warned)!
money
This one is pretty self-explanatory. With tuition, commute, maybe housing and groceries, you’re probably going to lose a fair amount of money unless you end up not having any responsibilities until you’re 30, have more than two jobs, and are really great with your money! Personally speaking, I lost over 8 thousand dollars on tuition and school supplies alone, and this was before I had even turned 20. Since then, I keep losing money to other expenses separate from my degree, like clothes, food, car insurance, and gas for my car! All of which, these days, aren’t cheap.
friendships
This one’s a little sad, but you need to know that once you hit 20, it’s all about building on new friendships you’ve made (if you made any). Without having a common place where you see the same people for four or more years (like high school), it’s particularly difficult to make new friends—especially when these people that you’re meeting in your lectures or labs may not have common interests outside of that class or may not live near you to make hanging out easy! All of that to say, there are many factors that might cause you to grow apart from some of the friends you used to have and you may lose new friendships you make in your twenties, too, for all of those same reasons!
Relationships
Okay, listen… you might be one of the lucky ones who met their Romeo in high school, who is still with them to this day, and who is thriving like nobody’s business, but in the very likely chance that you are like me, your twenties will consist of relationships that might lead nowhere or even no relationships at all; you’ll soon be acquainted with the term ‘situationship’ (read up on it and avoid it at all costs!).
confidence
So I’ve heard that your confidence hits when you reach your thirties. Of course, I can’t say for certain if this is true since I’m not yet 30, BUT I can say that my confidence has been all over the place in these first few years of being in my twenties. For me, I’ve experienced imposter syndrome—which is basically where the jobs that I started out in made me feel incompetent and inexperienced. Through feeling that way in particular, the overly confident teenage me would wash away and my more-insecure 20-year-old self would take action. Have my insecurities prevented me from opportunities that I should’ve taken? Yes, but we’re just taking life one day at a time!
your old self
Speaking of our teenage selves, I’m no longer the person I was in high school. It might seem hard to believe that in your twenties you change into a completely different person, but it’s true! Due to your changing environment, the people you surround yourself with are continuously changing, along with your mindset and opinions on things. Given these circumstances, you’re now probably not the person you were a year, two years, or three years ago, and that’s okay—own it!
freedom
To go off of what was already said about losing money, in your twenties, you’ll get dealt a slew of opportunities which will come with many responsibilities. In other words: freedom? Never heard of it! You may think you’re more independent once you live on your own, buy your first car, and start your career after graduating, but enjoy your freedom with little to no responsibility while you can before entering your twenties, because that really isn’t the case afterwards. The truth is that once you gain more independence, you lose the free time you once had as you now have things that rely on your hard work, money, and time.
the concept of time
Speaking of time, the concept of time goes out the window—especially when you’re in your twenties during a pandemic. Maybe it’s just me, but some friends I once knew are suddenly engaged and hinting at being pregnant?! Where did the time go?
All in all, there are many great things about being in your twenties that I’ll hopefully get the chance to write about in the near future. But for now, these are all the things that I and many other people in their twenties have “lost” since turning twenty so you can keep them in mind as you move forward in life.