20 somethings.

I graduated nearly half a year ago. When I think back to how my life was months ago --justifying my irresponsible actions because I was “still in college and I could,” procrastinating homework and job applications, and drinking maybe a little too much-- to how it is now: hustling to hit the ground at work, feeling nostalgic every other day for the "better days" and trying to maintain my social life without falling asleep at 10 PM every night.

From everyone I’ve talked to (a range of recent post grads to a pool of young professionals in their late 20’s), the 20’s are impossibly hard. The transition is hard enough without a trusting, guiding figure or a tangible program handed to you on the first day. But even after that transition and settling in, it’s hard to stay on track. No one really knows what they want to do, despite the title of their position or the company that they may be working at. No one really knows what they want to be doing either, and many lose their vision for what they wanted to achieve in their young adult life. This all sounds spiteful and negative, but this is the honest feedback I have received from the people I am closest to (and is where my head is at as well).

Everyone is a lost soul in their 20’s. There’s no real way to prepare for this mixed feeling of unfulfilled curiosity and settling for what you have/what you are given. It’s funny because when I was 16, I thought the intimidating age 22 meant having everything together; here I am now, laughing at how naive that concept was. I am accepting every mistake I make and anxiously waiting for the next one, while asking dumb questions on a regular basis to try and learn something new. Pretty much everyone's LinkedIn bio should be: "Hi, my name's *insert your name here*, I'm a recent graduate from *insert college/university here*, and I am faking it until I make it out here in the real world". Everyone is suddenly tossed into a whirlwind of confused yet competitive individuals who are trying to figure out what they want out of their careers, and attempting to piece together who they really are.

Although I am only 22, I have a list of goals I want to achieve within 8 years-- from places I want to travel to to all the people that I desire to meet. There’s countless memories to come, all of which I am excited for. Being in your 20's is undoubtedly filled with spontaneous adventures and exciting milestones. I also still have a lot of ambition for where I want to be by age 30. However, something I am not proud of is how I let time seamlessly escape me and I fail to fulfill all the goals I set for myself. This is something I am trying to change about myself in my new phase in life, even though these goals are not always realistic.

Finally, I was telling my dad about my constant fears about my future, who I want to be as a professional and as an individual. Keep in mind, my dad is one of the most dedicated and persistent people that I know when it comes to family and to his studies. He told me: “When you’re in your 20’s there will be random (yet completely by-fate) opportunities that come your way, and sometimes, you have to let yourself fall into these moments, despite whether or not they were part of your initial plan. There is no one plan you should be sticking to.”

So there it is. Cheers to all the 20 somethings who are right here with me. Rolling with the punches, trying to stay upbeat in a world that beats down on you sometimes. There’s still so much ahead of us and I wouldn’t be writing about this if I didn’t believe otherwise.

#lifestyle