When I was a freshman in high school, I was in sports and clubs for all ages and I remember looking up to the juniors and seniors. They were basically adults, young adults but they were definitely more mature than my freshman self. I thought they had it all figured out. They were going to college, they had summer jobs, they were going to be living by themselves, far from their friends and family. What could be more adult than that? But now I know differently. I’m twenty. I’ll actually be turning twenty-one in just a couple months. I’ve now completed two years of college! And I still have no idea what I’m doing. I actually think I have less of an idea than when I started college. But here are a few things I’ve learned about being in my twenties.
Life is hard.
That may sound like a joke, but it’s really not. Sometimes just getting up in the morning is rough. Buying your own groceries, paying rent on time, working, cleaning, going to class and getting enough sleep; it can be hard to stay afloat.
You have way more independence.
While life is hard, having a taste of freedom and independence is worth all of the daily struggles (sort of). You can eat whatever you want (even though eventually all the junk food will catch up to you), you can learn to cook for yourself (healthily hopefully), you can do literally anything you want (within reason) and you really don’t have to answer to anyone but yourself. And while all of those things have their downsides, the more you do for yourself and the more independent you get, the more you will realize how much you have grown as a person.
You’ll make lifelong friends.
The friends you make your freshman year of college will stay with you, whether you live with them, have class with them or meet them in a club. You will also meet amazing friends through work, activities and just hanging out in town. You won’t have to hangout with them all the time or even have a plan to hang out; some of the best nights I spent this year were with my roommates sitting on our kitchen floor laughing until we were crying. You won’t forget your old friends and you’ll be greatly rewarded when you branch out and meet new people.
You will learn about the world and yourself.
Whether you're in college, working, or just spending sometime trying to figure it all out, life is a learning process. Trial and error are definitely a huge component of my life, but honestly there’s no better way to better yourself than by falling on your face now and then. Go out, try new things and don’t be surprised if they don’t work out for you, but at least you can say you did it. Your twenties are all about experiencing life, and the more you truly experience the more you’ll learn and grow.
You will have no idea what you’re doing.
I know I have no idea what I’m doing -- at all. When I started college I had backup plan on backup plan, but now that I’ve actually taken some classes and held a job that I love, I have no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life and that's OK. You don’t have to know what you’re doing. You don’t even have to know what you might want to do. As long as you're experiencing life and truly trying everything will be OK. (Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself at twenty.)
