I went out to dinner with a friend of mine recently and we started to talk about a couple of people who recently got engaged. After discussing this for a minute, she finally made the comment to me that it seemed like everyone around us was either in a serious relationship, engaged or married. Well, we put that theory to the test. Between the two of us we knew 43 couples that were seriously dating, 31 one who were engaged and 26 who were married. For all of you people who aren’t math whizzes, that 100 people who are commitment to another person. 100 people who have to take their significant other into consideration when deciding what they wanted to do with their life. 100 people who can’t be 100% selfish in what they want to do before they have to think about another person.

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I use to be one of those girls in a serious relationship who wanted a ring right after college. I wanted to be engaged, get married and then start my life with someone. It wasn’t until we broke up that I realized that even though I wanted all of those things, I wasn’t ready for them. I needed to learn how to take care of myself before I could commit to someone else. I needed to learn how I live on my own without my parents help. I needed to struggle and work things out on my own. And, truth is, I still need to do those things. Now, this concept may be scary (it’s terrifying to me) but I think that it is something that would be good for all of us in our 20s.

This is not only the time to figure out how we live as humans, but this is a time to be selfish. When you’re on your own, the only person you have to be concerned about is you! So if that means you want to spend $20 on takeout because you were really craving Chinese food, that’s okay. If you want to work dog hours so you can take your dream trip to Europe, that’s okay. If you want to stay out late with your friends, that’s okay! (Just make sure you get home safe) You have the freedom to be selfish and do what you want when you want it.

This is the time to do all the things that you’ve ever dreamed about. Take that trip to Italy, eat that Chinese food and drink a little too much. You’re young and you should enjoy it!

Take the time to work on yourself and what you want out of the world. Dream big and dream hard because, at this point, sky is the limit.

Eventually, I want to be married and have kids, but that time is not now and I’m okay with it. I want to be the mom who lived their dream and has the chance to tell their children about it. I want to fill my kids heads with adventures I took and risks that were well worth it. I want this time to be selfish and I challenge you to do the same. Be selfish, do the things you want to do without feeling guilty about it. You have this time in your life for a reason! Live it up and live it well.