We think we should have our entire life together in our early 20's but in reality, most of us don’t have anything together at all. Being a 20-something recent college graduate in today’s day and age is a hard thing to be. We are taught to believe that if we don’t have a full time job lined up right after graduation, are applying to grad schools and pay all of our bills by ourselves that we are failing adulthood and won’t make it past 30. In reality it’s near impossible to balance a new job, school, sleep and a social life, let alone all the extra stress being placed in our lives throughout the day.
Being a 20-something year old recent college graduate in today’s society means pulling all-nighters to apply for countless jobs just to get your foot in the door. It means arguing with your parents because they don’t understand the stress you are under to get a job and be successful. It means numerous coffee breaks, and countless amounts of money spent at Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts just to be able to function throughout the day. It means hearing the questions, “What are your plans now that you’ve graduated?” and, “How is the job search going?” more times than you would like. It means spending most of your paycheck at drive-thru windows just so you don’t have to go home and cook. It even means calling five hours of sleep a good night’s rest.
However, in the end you’ll look back on your 20's and you won’t remember the stress to be a successful adult, the arguments had, the all-nighters with countless amounts of resumes sent or even the bad grades in school. All that you will remember are the times you spent with the people that mattered to you while you were young and free. The memories made and the fun times spent with your friends will be the things you remember the most. The late nights out with friends, the random road trips, and all the concerts you attended in Atlanta will be the things you reflect on. Take it from a 22-year-old recent college graduate; the time you have in your 20s and in college is not something to take for granted. You will blink and before you know it be walking across that stage to not only receive your diploma, but your ticket to adulthood. If I could give advice to all the 20-somethings out there stressing about the next step in their life it would be to slow down and appreciate this time of uncertainty. This zone is where most people find themselves, so living in this area of the unknown for a little bit is nothing to be scared of. Searching for a job is hard and frustrating and of course money is tight, but one day when you’re working your nine-to-five, you’ll look back on these times of confusion in your life and wonder how you can get it all back. We often spend so much time focusing on the things that stress us out in life instead of focusing on what’s really important, like enjoying our youth while we can and celebrating the fact that life is unpredictable.
