Congrats, you’ve finally beaten teen pregnancy and have simultaneously graduated from the demographic we call “teenagers” at the same time. But what else is there really, about turning 20, besides the fact that we’ve finally made it into the almost-semi-adult world? Absolutely nothing. As my 20th birthday comes and goes this weekend, I can only dwell on one feeling that I have. Complete and utter indifference. Not only does turning 20 mean shit, it feels like shit. You can no longer call yourself a teenager but you also don’t fit into the adult world. Basically, being 20 is equivalent to being stuck in purgatory. We’ve got nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.
When we were young and naive, probably in that disturbing time we call middle school, we thought 20 year olds had their entire lives figured out. Once you hit your 20s, you should be set. But, sadly, we now realize that most 20 year olds are living paycheck to paycheck from their minimum wage job trying to get a college degree and living off of Ramen noodles, while also rewatching Gossip Girl for the third time. Us “twenteens” just want to be treated like adults, but please mom can you still do my laundry, cook me food and pay for all of my things?
Not only do we still rely on our parents for almost everything when we feel as though we should be starting to move on with our lives, but some of us are actually moving on with our lives. Too bad it’s not me! Or most of us, for that matter. Congrats to my fellow peers on getting internships with ESPN and NBC News, I’m going to go sulk into my Ben & Jerry’s while thinking about my summer of slaving away as a cocktail waitress trying to save up money so I can actually afford to get an unpaid internship sometime in the future. Life is rough, man.
Did I mention absolutely nothing happens the year you turn 20? When we turned 18 we became an “adult” who could buy lottery tickets, drive past 11 p.m. and join the military. When we turned 19 we could legally buy tobacco (shout out to cancer), but when we turn 20 guess what happens? Nothing. Nothing besides a countdown starting at 365 begins until your next birthday when you can finally (legally) consume alcohol in excessive amounts and enter the real adult world. But for now, we’re stuck. Twenty-fun? Not quite.
I like to think of 20 as a some sort of gap year. You know, that time off you take between high school and college to travel or figure out what you really want out of life and bullshit like that? I propose we take this “gap year” to try and figure out if we’ve actually learned anything from our long, brutal teen years and how to apply it to our new adult lives. Or just take it to prepare your mind and your liver for your absolute shit show of a 21st birthday. But you choose.
