As you enter the second decade of your life, there are quite a few reasons to expect only the best. Each year is filled with at least one exciting development or experience that previous years never could have given you. If you are scared of what is to come, here is a list of 20 things that can only happen in your twenties and totally rock.
1. You're not a teenager anymore. When you turn 20, you can no longer be grouped with angsty 13-year-olds. There is a difference.
2. You turn 21. There is no singular way to express the joy that comes from turning 21. You can finally drink legally. The bar is your oyster.
3. No more X's. Along the same lines, you never have to deal with being underage in a social setting. No X's, no hiding your drink when the bouncer walks by and no more chugging your friend's drink in the bathroom.
4. You can rent a car. This is a double-edged sword. When you are 21 you can rent one, but you have to pay a fee. At 25, however, you can rent a fee-less car.
5. "22" by Taylor Swift. On your 22nd birthday, you are allowed a limitless number of plays. Enough said.
6. You will graduate from college. Even if you are on the five (or six) year track, you are guaranteed to graduate sometime in your twenties.
7. You will finally learn your drinking limits. This probably won't happen until your later twenties, but you will eventually learn from your mistakes and learn the magic number of drinks that won't take you over the edge.
8. You will get a salary. After college graduation, you'll finally have a degree. That degree combined with a good job and a few consecutive years in the field will lead to a real salary. You might even get a 401k and health benefits.
9. People will start to take you seriously. After completing college and starting to work in your field, others will start to look at you as an adult and finally take you seriously.
10. You will get excited about a salary and health benefits.Again, this won't come in the early twenties, but sometime in this decade, you will start to care about adult issues. With age comes wisdom and maturity.
11. You will have the option to settle down or travel. Before college, you were forced to go where your parents went. In college, you were tied down to one city for four years. In your twenties, though, you'll have the chance to go to graduate school or get a job or just travel. The best part: it is completely your decision.
12. In fact, all decisions are yours. Apart from your supervisor at your new job, you are the sole provider and decision maker in your life.
13. You can finally get a pet. You have always shied away from getting your first pet because you never thought you could handle it. In your twenties, you will finally get your chance and be put to the test.
14. You will gain independence from your parents. Somewhere in your twenties, you will slowly start to wean yourself off of your parents' financial protection. First apartment, tax returns, cars and bills will all become yours in this decade and without your parents' help.
15. You will get to pay off student loans. You are probably thinking, "Why should I look forward to this?" I'll tell you: The sooner your start paying off student loans, the sooner you have no more student loans. Tell me, what else is more liberating?
16. Almost nothing you do will be something you didn't want to. The best part about starting a career is finally doing what you've prepared your whole life for. No more "gen-ed" classes or coffee-fetching internships.
17. You might meet the love of your life. Maybe you already have or maybe you want to wait, but the chances that you will find your future spouse in the next ten years are very high.
18. If you have found your future spouse, you will most likely get married. This is certainly not the status quo for people in their twenties, but it is likely that you will be on track for engagement or marriage. That "tracking" phase is essential and exciting.
19. You will finally understand your parents on a whole new level. They always told you that life is hard and that you will have to learn that on your own. In this decade, you will be on your own and finally learn that fateful lesson. This will not only improve your life-skills, but also force you to reach out to your parents for advice. The bond that forms after is irreplaceable.
20. You will discover the real you. It is in this decade that you will experience the most change. In your twenties, you will go through college, internships, jobs, graduate school, careers, pets, great loves, marriage, possibly kids and many firsts.
These experiences will shape and transform you into the true "you." There will be lots of time alone, but that can only mean self-reflection and improvement. Your time with others will narrow your expectations for future relationships and values. You will lose the bad friends and gain the best. Every one of these experiences will teach you a lesson that you will vow never to lose sight of.
Life in your twenties means 20/20 hindsight that leads to a clearer foresight.
Every year leading up to your twenties has prepared you for life in your twenties. There is a reason for that: they are the real best years of your life. And with ten amazing years ahead, you have a lot to look forward to.
