An old friend I haven't talked to in about four years texted me out of the blue last week. It was casual conversation about what we have been doing with our lives since we last spoke. Then, he asked if I was living on my own yet. I told him I would probably be living with my parents until I finished college, and he said "oh that's cool I guess..." By now, I was questioning my life choices and if I am where I am supposed to be at this point in life. What did he mean "that's cool I guess"? I'm 19 and still have at least three years of college. Am I supposed to be living on my own?
We are at that weird age where we are supposed to be adults, but we also still have no idea how to be adults. We are all just fumbling around and Googling "what's a credit score" and "why did my clothes turn pink" because quite frankly, most of us our clueless.
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It is also the age where everyone is trying to find themselves. There are people I graduated with who are chasing Pokemon around, and there are people I graduated with who are married with a kids. I have friends who picked up and moved to California just because they wanted to; I have friends who already graduated and have jobs as cosmetologists; I have friends pursuing their doctorate in neurosurgery, and I have friends who will probably work in a restaurant their whole life.
And all of that is OK. We are all different people with different purposes. We are not all supposed to travel down the same road, we have different personalities and different talents and different goals in life, and there is nothing wrong with that.
So while my old friend's goal was to save up and get his own place immediately, my goal is to save up and get my own place eventually.
While sometimes I wish I was traveling the world and I get a little freaked out when someone I graduates gets married, I know that stuff is just further down the road for me.
Sometimes it's hard to decide between all the different choices and opportunities the world has to offer, and seeing what other people are doing can make you question if you are in the right place in your life. If you are working toward your goals, then you are exactly where you need to be. You're not supposed to be doing the same thing as everyone else.
This is what being in your 20s is about. It is about finding your place in the world. It might take some people longer than others; you might think you found your purpose 10 different times before you really do. Don't be intimidated by what other people are doing; life will take you wherever you need to go.
