20 Goals For My 20 Somethings
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20 Goals For My 20 Somethings

You don't just become a butterfly

Ansley Cartwright
Oct 29, 2019
University of Georgia
182
20 Goals For My 20 Somethings

I am no longer a teenager but so far from being an adult. It's an awkward time in life where you are so much more than you were in high school but so far from where you want to be. Your independence depends on your zip code because at school you can do anything, but you still have a curfew over the summer. It's a time where you're trying to figure out what being in your twenties means and what the next decade will bring you. Within the next ten years, I could graduate, get married, have kids, travel the world, get my dream job, meet the love of my life, anything. Where today could be my anniversary or child's birthday or the day I get promoted or graduate. But today is just another number on the calendar.

Last year, I compiled a list of 19 things I wanted to be, and now, I am writing about 20 things I want to do. Because this is a year of not just wishing for things but making them happen. This a season in life where I'm running out of time in my college years to do everything I want to. This is a time of urgency where to get to where you want, you must be constinuously putting in work to be there. This is a season of growth, of change, or renewal.

One of my favorite quotes will always be "You don't just become a butterfly. Growth is a process". This simple pinterest level inspiration really speaks to this phase of my life. That growth is a process. That no one starts out having it all together all the time but regardless of where we believe others are at, we are all struggling with the same things. We are all learning to grow as we change through these seasons of our lives. We all want to be ourselves, but we all want to be accepted. We all want a "secure job", but we all want to follow our passions. We all want to share with the world how amazing our lives are, but we don't always believe that ourselves. We are all in the same transition period- with different challenges, different goals, different places.

Here's to the twenty goals I'm setting for myself this year. Because you don't just become who you want to be. Growth is a process.

1.  To apologize less.

I want to stop apologizing as much. I need to stop saying "sorry" for things I don't regret. I want to be so unapologetically myself that I don't have to think twice about what others will think. This is a year of talking too much, speaking my mind, doing what I feel is right, spending time how I want to.

2. To travel more.

I want to see the world and learn more about it. I want to see places with people I love. I want to experience new settings and all the culture they have to offer. I want to take road trips when I have the time and go abroad when I have the ability. Life is too short to stay inside the same zipcode.

3. To say "no" less often.

I want to plan less. This is the time to be impetuous and spontaneous. I want to go get fries with my best friends at midnight. I want to experience as much as I can while I have the time. I want to put myself out there. I want to stop not giving myself the opportunity to enjoy what's right in front of me.

4. To put more miles on my car. 

I want to go to away games with friends. I want to drive to my favorite restaurant. I want to see people at other colleges. I don't want distance to be a barrier. I was steering wheel time and long playlists and chats about life while going down the highway.

5. To love unconditionally.

I want to be accepting of everyone. I want to be forgiving of the past and of experiences. I want to show the world how to love like Christ. I want to practice giving my heart to the world and trusting them with it. I want to show people that no circumstance can get in the way of feeling loved and accepted and appreciated- because we need more of that.

6. To set goals more often.

I want to get out of habits. I don't want to go about a daily routine but work daily to improve it. I want to set goals and motivate myself to work towards them. I don't want to tell people my major, I want to achieve success in it. I don't want to sit around and wait for things to happen or make excuses for them. I want to achieve them in their entirety.

7. To be more friendly.

I want to be approachable. I want to make friends in elevators and build relationships in classroom desks. I want to shake hands with people at church I haven't met. I want to make everyone who comes into my life feel welcomed. I want to be the person where regardless of where we are or where we stand, people feel like they can come to me- because no one should feel alone.

8. To paint more.

I want to take more time to do things I love. I want to paint and draw and learn to get better at creative outlets because I enjoy them. I want to express myself more and take time to do it.

9. To write what I think.

I love to write, but sometimes, I get nervous about what people will think or feel in regards to what I put out there. I hate that. I want to be able to be unapologetically myself and say exactly what I mean and write specifically what I'm feelings. I want the world to get a little insight into my life and my feelings because they matter.

10. To be part of more things that make me feel alive.

I never want my life to be boring. I want to join more organizations that make me feel like I'm doing something that matters. I want to make a difference in people's lives. I want to spend more time with people who make me forget to check my phone and go to things that make me forget to check the time. I want smile lines in my makeup. I want to feel my heart in my chest and adrenaline in my veins.

11. Be intentional.

Stop waiting for the right time or right place and go for it. Tell people how much they mean to you. Make time to see people you love who aren't always around. Don't wait for it to fit in your schedule. Work to do exactly what you need.

12. Be vulnerable.

I want to let my guard down. I want to be transparent and show everyone exactly who I am and why. I want to be okay with things not being alright and feel them in extremes. I want my heart to break when things are wrong and grow through it. I want to love so hard it hurts. I want to rejoice in openness.

13. To invest my money is experiences not things.

I rarely remember buying that iced coffee (or 1,562 of them) but I remember the conversations over lattes on rainy days in my favorite coffee shops with loved ones. I don't remember the times I stopped by Canes on my way back to the dorms last year, but I remember eating chicken and fries while cheering for the dawgs during away games. I couldn't tell you what I wore on my birthday last year, but I remember the loved ones I spent it with. I want to invest my time and money in experiences that make me feel like me.

14. To never half myself.

I am often too busy to too overloaded to commit fully. I give half my effort, half my time, half my energy to things that deserve my fullest self. I multitask with so much that nothing ends up how I want it. I would rather give my everything to one piece than pieces to everything.

15. To give myself credit every now and then.

I am not a business major, but that doesn't make my degrees less important. It just means they're different the same way my interests and goals are. I'm doing good work and doing well at it. I've done some amazing things, and I need to talk about those more. I start graduate level classes towards my masters program at 20. I have had my work circulated through a 70,000 person population. My writing sits on coffee tables and in dentists offices and that's cool. I was part of an organization that served lunch to 7,000 hungry children every weekday of the entire summer- and that's incredible. I do good things and should be proud of those.

16. To check in on myself.

Drink some water. Go to the gym. Buy the wrinkle cream before I get them. Check in on my mental health. Go to the doctor. Schedule an eye appointment. At this age, I'm not responsible for a husband or kids or anyone really. I only have to take care of myself, so I might as well start doing it.

17. Let the past go.

My past may have shaped me, but it is not who I am. I need to stop focusing on the things that I truly have felt ruined my life and instead put my time and energy into things that make it better. I am no longer my high school sob story. I am no longer the girl I was when I was seventeen and scared of the world. I am not that person, and I need to stop letting her consume me now.

18. Stop fearing failure.

I want to go after everything without be scared of failure. I want to run aimlessly in the direction of my dreams. I don't want to be restricted by uncertainty anymore. It's a growing process- a learning process- and I will get there or become better by it.

19. Stop settling. 

This is my time to be selfish. This is my time to get what I deserve. Life is far too short to spend it settling for people who don't treat me the way I should be. I need to set expectations and hold others to them. This year is for strength. It's for the power to stand up for myself regardless of circumstances.

20. Be more than content.

I never want to be okay with just being okay. I want to be great. I want to be better.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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