If you don’t play Taylor Swift’s "22," did you really even have your birthday? Her song is pretty accurate in the grand scheme of things -- feeling 22 is a mix of many crazy emotions.
"How do I even top my 21st birthday…."
"Twenty-two -- that’s like what I thought was the marriage age when I was little…"
"I don’t even know who I’m going to go on my next date with, let alone marry…"
"What if I don’t get that job I want after graduation…"
"How will I ever buy a house…"
"Shit, is this what adults really worry about?"
"I’m old…"
"No, F that, I’m young actually…"
Your thought process goes a little bipolar this birthday.
You’re not quite old enough to have it all together, but suddenly the age of 21 being left behind has you feeling like you’re supposed to be a lot more mature now. The binge drinking age is behind you, and it’s time to maturely sip and start adulating (or try to at least).
At 22 you have a more relaxing birthday. You’re not so focused on the drinking and party planning; you’re more concerned with what you’ve done with this past year and what you’re going to do with the next one. It’s more reflective rather than a huge celebration to showcase on social media. Is that an adult behavior?
It seems that 21 is the fun year, the last hurrah (and first legal one). However, the thought of it all being downhill from here; I know now that that isn’t true.
Twenty-two, that’s just young enough to still be having fun and figuring it out on your own, but old enough to know who you really are and what you want in life.
You’re not a kid anymore. You’re more independent than ever before and probably know yourself a lot better than you ever did before.
You know that you don’t have to please anyone but yourself by now which is an emboldening fucking feeling. Your college years, whether in college or not, have prepared you for the real world. Whether that be with your degree in communications, fuck boy avoidance, or drama ditching.
You're completely content with going to dinner with your five best friends rather than trying to throw the party of the year with as many people in your contact list the way you might for 21.
Whether you realize it or not, you actually are a lot different in only a year.
This could be the start of a new outlook on life if you let it, an uphill journey rather than a downhill spiral from 21 fun.
You can do anything you want and you what you’re capable of. You might have those nostalgic points thinking about 21, and that's OK. Just remember to snap back into reality and create new moments to be nostalgic about next birthday.
Go ahead and go out dressed like hipsters, make fun of your exes, have breakfast at midnight, and fall in love with strangers. Not only does Taylor Swift endorse that 22 feeling, but I actually do too.
Be that strong independent person that you imagine when you hear those fun songs, make it your mission to be 22, unapologetically you and happy.
Cheers to 22 being an age of empowerment, not a downhill slope.
Next stop: 30, flirty, and thriving.
