Being in my early 20’s (I’m literally 22), there have been a lot of things that I’ve learned. The likelihood of me learning new things/skills is high. Plus, my list could look completely different from yours or maybe you can relate to it whether you are in your 20’s or not but enough of me rambling let me start the list off!
1. Being Patient with Yourself
Whether you are learning a new skill, learning how to cook, paint, craft, etc. You should be patient with yourself because it takes time to learn and get the hang of it. I say that because we are built in a society where you need to be good at something fast and have that expectancy of not making any mistakes, which is FALSE because everyone is human and it’s normal to make mistakes as you learn.
2. STOP Comparing Yourself
If I could go back and give my preteen or teenage self a big tip, it would be to not compare myself with anyone. This was a hard pill to swallow because when I was younger, I would look at those around me and compare myself and question whether or not I was good enough. PSA: YOU ARE ENOUGH! AND YOU’RE DOING GREAT (thank you for coming to my Ted talk). Everyone has their own journey in their life, career, job, and experiences. Never forget that your journey is completely different from your friend, family, coworker, etc.
3. Learn to Balance Your Personal & Professional Life
I’ve learned that as a college student that there is a NEED for balance within your personal and professional life. I say that because there have been points where I’ve taken a lot of responsibilities/tasks and tried to complete all of it and then feel the consequences of my actions, which is burnout. If you have a family function and a project due on that day, I highly recommend doing your project the day you get it, so you don’t do it the night of or try to scramble something in. I understand that procrastination happens (it still happens to me once in a while), but you are better off doing it a few days before it’s due so you can relax and have fun on your days off. There’s a balance that you need to find which could be difficult at first, but each person’s way of balancing courses and their personal life is different. It took me a while to learn how to balance my personal and professional life and there are still point that there can be an imbalance.
So, the moral of my 20’s is that you got this and there are plenty of things you’ll learn as you keep growing whether you are in your 20’s, 30’s, 50’s, etc. Just know that you aren’t alone when learning new things!