So I recently turned 20. Literally just a few days ago. July 15, in case you were wondering. I have to admit I was extremely excited. I woke up, and started the day to Beyonce's "B-day" album, because that was the only logical thing to do. Also, Beyonce is queen and her music must be played forever and ever! Amen! I keep thinking how awesome it would be to finally be able to call myself a legitimate adult. A few days later it was a totally different story. When I finally let the reality of my 20th birthday sink in, I had a mini panic attack.
Thinking back to a time I still enjoyed a good a mud pie, I totally thought that by age 20 my life would be set. I thought that I would be extremely "successful." By successful I mean living in an apartment, a really-cool-totally-brag-worthy job under my belt, and an insanely large squad by my side. Obviously none of those things happened because I am sitting here writing this.
I am twenty, I work two jobs, I live in my parent's humble abode, I have no car, but I also don't have a license. It is a struggle to find more than five legitimate friends. I have not come up with a new app that has revolutionized the modern world, I do not own my own business, and I haven't interned anywhere. Also I've switched my major like 500 times. Basically I haven't gotten my stuff together.
The fact that my life isn't all sorted out by now kind of scared the day lights out of me. I felt like I had a lot of work to do. I did what I normally do when I have a lot of things on my plate. That's right, I went on YouTube.
(Side note: God bless YouTube)
I was scrolling through a sea of videos that is the YouTube I know and love, and stumbled across a video that was called, " 9 Things About Your 20s". No, it was not a Buzzfeed video. As usual, this led me down a path of videos that were pretty similar. I felt so much better after listening to people who were, for the most part done with the hardest part of life.
Instead of having you watch hundreds of videos, I'm going to save you the trouble and sum up everything in five points.
1. Fear is a normal thing
From fear of new things, or places, to fear of or about financial things. Fear is freaking normal. It's okay to be afraid. As humans, we generally are afraid of the unknown. You are definitely not alone.
2. You will not have it all together right now
If you're like me, you believe that you should have it all figured out because everybody else seems to, right? Wrong. Okay so being 20 is like being zero-years-old again. Being zero-years-old, except hopefully with a car, and you can talk for the most part, just not when you're in front of future bae. You're brand new, and it's not just you. Everyone in your age group is new to this thing called "adulting", and we're all kind of bumbling around and hoping we're doing alright. That being said, even those who do seem to have it all together don't. And even if they somehow, by God's good graces, do, they are on a completely different journey than you. Your life is going to be way different which means it could take a longer time to figure stuff out, which also means that comparison is stupid. Do not under any circumstances compare yourself with others! Its about you, not them!
3. Your Twenties are your selfish years.
"It's my party and I'll cry if I want to." Yes it is your party, and you can cry, or eat as much cake as you want because you're 20 and that fast metabolism won't be there forever. Sheds a tear.So eat it up and make it count! It's the time to "do you boo!" Literally. Find out who you are, because you probably don't know yet and that's totally cool. I mean, when you think about it, if you wound the clock back 15 years, you'd be five. A lot has changed since you were 5. You aren't the same person. So figuring out who you are, what you like, don't like, who you like, etc is all crucial. Living life how you want it, again "muy importante." I cannot stress this enough. Also, remember when I said that thing about the fast metabolism? Yeah, that really won't last, so be selfish with your health, meaning take care of yourself. Wear sunscreen, so you won't look like Yzma at age 35. Go to the gym so you don't become a human Baymax.
4. Get financially smart
So this is also important, obviously. I'm no business major, and math's not my thing, but I do know how crucial it is to be financially stable. Say you figure out where you want to go or what you want to do with your life. You have it all planned out but you don't have the funds to do your thang. Wouldn't that suck? My advise would be to take some financial classes (because high school only taught us the Pythagorean theory and parallelograms), or get a book from BAM, or Barnes & Noble. Find out what a 401-K is, and when you find out please tell me because I'm lost. And trust me, it's never too early to start a retirement fund, you won't be 20 forever.
5. Take your time
Anyways, this should have been numero uno, but I saved the best for last. Or most important, you have time! The most common thing I heard from people, not just YouTubers, lending their advice to us newbies, is that they wished they slowed down and really savored being young. We're all in such a hurry to be grown up. Even as adults, we want to be more "adultish." However this is a time you will never get back. What a time to be alive! Soon you'll be 80, tying a whole bunch of balloons to your roof so you can fly to a waterfall in South America with a chubby boy and a talking dog. That actually doesn't sound half bad. Do you really want to look back on your life and wish you could do things over? Of course not! The suckage would be so real. You have time, so relax. Rome wasn't built in a day, and your life won't be either.
Enjoy your youth!
