Oh to be living life in your 20s. To go from living with your parents and worrying about what you’re going to draw on your face for Friday Night’s football game or whether or not you and your friends are going to go to tonight’s party, to living on your own and paying your rent six months in advance. The craziest thing is, changes like this can happen days after your 20th birthday…well at least that’s how it worked for me. With that being said, let’s have a real conversation about your 20s and tips that would really help you guide your way through them.
When people said your 20s were going to be the best time of your life, they were NOT lying. It is such a fun filled time in your life but, it does have its downs…and there are many of them. To start off, your real friends will be made clear to you almost immediately. This is a period of growth and readjustment and the individuals that leave your life during this period weren’t meant to be with you when you finally hop into your final form. A lot of people take it as a negative thing but that is not always the case! Some people are meant to be in your life for specific reasons during specific seasons. Not everyone nor is everything is meant to be long term and the sooner you can accept that, the easier your platonic and romantic relationships will become. The same thing goes for career choices!
A lot of the time, older adults make it seem as though we have to have our entire lives planned out as soon as we graduate high school. I think COVID did an excellent job of displaying how we truly do not have control over as much as we think we do. Adults fail to realize that with this being such a transitional time period in our lives, our wants and needs are going to change as we develop into these different versions of ourselves and that is completely fine!! It is okay to change from one major, one concentration, or field to another. Everything is a learning experience and you will never be able to know what is truly for you if you don’t put yourself out there and try different things!
The last thing I really want to harp on is something that is truly only prevalent due to the age of Social Media that we are in. With the rise of content creators and influencers, everyone has this impression that you need to have your own house, your own car, and you need to be on your way to being a multi millionaire by the time you hit 21 years old. Let’s be so for real right now…that is not attainable for everyone!!! We are literally just teenagers with bills and most of us are still in school. It is okay to still live with your parents, it’s okay to still be on their phone bill, it’s okay to not be a CEO of a business, and most importantly, it is okay to grow! To sum everything up, put yourself first and know that who you are, what you want to do, and who you surround yourself with today can change by tomorrow and THAT IS OKAY! Growth is infinite and it should not be defined by those around you. Live your life the way you want to because, you only have one chance to live it.
Wishing you the most inspiring and fun-filled 20s anyone could ever imagine,
Makayla J., a confused 20 year old black girl <3